Mass Effect: An AU Retelling
by Kage69
Summary: This is a retelling of my Renegade FemShep game that will cover all 3 games and then some. After doing research, there's a 2 year gap between The Skyllian Blitz and Torfan. My Shepard will be both War Hero and Ruthless covering both events. Rated M for Language, Violence, Nudity, and future Lemons FemShepXAshley
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I don't own Mass Effect, it's the intellectual property of EA/Bioware**

 **A/N: Sorry for the long delay on any updates, but having some writer's block and interference from my depression. I was going back over the story, and noticed several errors, so I'm editing the previous chapters.**

 **Chapter 1**

Neira and Sierra Sheppard; the twin daughters of Admirals Hannah and Christopher Shepard were born into one of the greatest Military Families that dates as far back the War of 1812. Their mother Hannah is one of the greatest System Alliance strategists, and their Father Christopher was a highly decorated Marine and former Admiral in charge of the N7 program before his passing a year ago. 

Neira was born as a rare and end extremely powerful Biotic rivaling the Asari in natural ability with no need of implants. Sierra was also gifted, but nowhere near as powerful as her twin, and actually needed implants. 

Neira and Sierra went to the most prestigious Military Academies in all of the Systems Alliance, where from entrance to graduation students are kept in three-person teams. Neira and Sierra some would say were unfortunate enough to be teamed with one Ashley Williams… unfortunate due to her family History. Ashley's Grandfather was the only Human to surrender to the Turians at Xianshi during the First Contact War. Ever since then, the Williams family more or less have been blacklisted and have lived by a family motto of _A Williams has to be better than the rest_. 

The Shepard twins accepted Ashley and harbor no ill-will to her or her family, as they both feel that her Grandfather did the right thing as it saved numerous lives both military and civilian alike. In time their trio became one of the top units in the school, and by the time they graduated, their unit held the School's records in every category that to this date none has even came close to being touched let alone broken. 

The threesome have been together up to the point where the sisters were accepted in the N7 program, but Ashley was rejected due majorly because she's a Williams. All through the training program, the sisters kept in close contact to Ashley who they considered more of a sister than a friend much to their mother's dismay, as like everyone else Hannah was also against the Williams family, and used every ounce of rank and political maneuvering she could to keep Ashley held back. 

Now that they have graduated the program They reached out to Ashley for them all to get together for some celebrating and relaxation before they get any orders. The threesome decided on meeting at Elysium the famed resort colony. Unbeknownst to them, their little celebration will be cut short in the manner of a living nightmare that will later be known as The Skyllian Blitz. 

**_Elysium Spaceport_**

A young woman with long chestnut brown hair with matching eyes wearing a white with black trim sports top and matching short shorts waited excitedly at the gate for the shuttle to arrive which carried her two best friends whom she hasn't seen in a year. The woman Ashley Williams watched eagerly as the shuttle landed and paced anxiously barely able to hold her excitement as she awaited the arrival of not just her friends, but for all intents and purposes her _sisters._

Ashley watched as tourists and soldiers on leave disembarked and entered the terminal. Finally she spotted two girls, one with jet black hair with pink streaks and piercing deep blue eyes wearing a black T with the N7 logo and black cargo-style shorts walked out along side another girl with deep red hair with enchanting green eyes wearing a black sleeveless halter top revealing her midriff showing her well defined abs and sporting an N7 navel piercing. She also wore black short shorts. The two were looking at each other and laughing when the red head caught out of the corner of her eye a very familiar beautiful chestnut haired girl. She grabbed the other by the hand and the two ran towards her who met them half way and they collided into a huge embrace. 

"How was the flight?" 

"If you asked me, I'd say it was fine, but I think it was excruciatingly long for Neira-" Sierra laughed. 

"Hey, excuse me for being impatient for wanting to be reunited with _our_ sister again… It's been a long and grueling year. N7 training is no joke, and the trainers were exceptionally hard on us." 

"No kidding… _thanks a lot_ mom and dad..." The twins laughed. 

"So Ash, were you able to do as we talked about?" 

A big smile came across Ashley's face. "Wasn't easy, in fact, I had to use your family name to get the room, and they even called to confirm with your mom that it was indeed for us. I'm beginning to think that I'll never get any sort of acknowledgment from your mother." 

"Don't worry about it. She'll accept you once you prove yourself in her eyes." Sierra encouraged her. 

Neira and Sierra went on either side of Ashley and put an arm around her and the three headed back to the hotel and their _Presidential Suite._

When the three Marines entered their suite, their eyes went wide as they scoped the luxurious suite. In the center of the room was a massive hot tub, there was a large kitchen/dining area, on one wall was a wall to wall, ceiling to floor holoscreen. The girls' mouths were agape. Ashley went out to the balcony, while the sisters took a look at the bedroom. Ashley was in a daze as she looked out at the breath taking view. The sisters looked at each other, then at the massive bed, at each other, and the bed again. Ash finally pulling herself away from the balcony walked into the bedroom and saw her best friends just standing there. She looked over at the massive triple king with awe. She walked over turning around and let herself fall back. 

"Oh my god, it's like laying down on a cloud..." 

The sisters joined Ash letting them fall on the bed on either side of Ashley. "This is amazing." Sierra murmured. 

"I know, right." Neira agreed. 

"Think this is amazing, you should see the view from the balcony- It'll take your breaths away like nothing else." 

At that the sisters got off the bed and walked out to the balcony and were just completely awestruck at the view. "It's like we died and went to heaven Sie-" Neira said softly. Sierra just nodded. They both turned around when they heard the jets of the hot tub fire up and walked back inside. 

When they walked in, what they saw neither of them expected. Ashley was standing there in just her bra and panties, and they stood there in wonderment as they watched their friend's bra drop to the floor and with one pull her g-string fell as well. 

The sisters, more Neira over Sierra marveled at the sight before them. Ashley's bronzed tan with no tan lines, her strong yet feminine physique, her firm 36C breasts which made both girls frown in slight jealousy as Sierra only had a 36A and Neira with a 34B, but they weren't even 20 yet. 

The sisters finally pulling themselves from staring at Ashley quickly stripped and joined her in the hot tub. "So, was I right?" Ash asked with a smile. 

"The view was ok, but not as amazing as something else I just saw." Neira replied. 

Ashley raised a brow. "Oh, and what would that be?" 

The corners of Neira's lips curled up in a devilish grin. "You-" 

Hearing this, Ashley turned bright red, but before anything could proceed from there. Alarms started blaring. 

"Attention, Attention Everyone head for the emergency shelters. This is not a drill, repeat this is not a drill. Any and all military personnel please head for the nearest police barracks to assist." 

The three friends looked at each other and their eyes narrowed as they got out of the hot tub and rushed to get dressed. Ashley pulled out a pair of black cargo shorts with hot pink camouflage pattern and a black sleeveless halter top, and grabbed her Hane-Kedar Cobra Mk V. 

Sierra put on a pair of white cargo shorts with gold accent and matching sleeveless stretch shirt, and grabbed her Jormangund Pinnacle Mk V.

Neira put on black cargo pants with deep red accents and a black sports bra that sported the N7 insignia over her left breast, and grabbed her Haliat Stiletto Mk V and several clips. 

Once the three were dressed, they double timed it for the nearest Police bunker which as luck had it was just down the street from their hotel. A Sargent noticed them and turned to them. "What are you girls doing here? You need to evacuate to the shelters-" 

Neira stormed up to him and jabbed her finger into his chest. "The announcement called for all military personnel to head for police bunkers. Systems Alliance Corporal Ashley Williams, Gunnery Chief Sierra Shepard, and Operations Chief Neira Shepard reporting for duty you prick!" 

The sargent's eyes narrowed, but before he could say anything his Lieutenant interrupted. "Stand down Sargent. Sierra and Neira Shepard, are the daughters of Christopher Shepard; hero of the First Contact War- not to mention from what I hear, Neira is the most powerful Human Biotic in history, and she has no implants." 

The Sargent's eyes went wide. The Lieutenant extended his hand to Neira. "Sorry about that Chief. Name's Daniels… Lieutenant Jonathan Daniels." 

Neira nodded and accepted his hand. "So tell us LT, what are we dealing with?" 

Jonathan's eyes narrowed. "Raiders… An Army of Batarian raiders and slavers has landed." Jonathan looked over at Ashley squinting his eyes. The three girls could tell he was looking at her with scrutiny. "And you are? You look vaguely familiar to me for some reason." 

"Williams, Corporal Ashley Williams Sir." 

The Lieutenant accessed his Omni Tool and scowled. "NO, ABSOLUTELY NOT! You WILL go back to the shelters!" He hissed. 

"There a problem with my friend LT?" Neira asked agitatedly trying to keep her cool. 

"That's an understatement. I had the unlucky _privilege_ as a Private in the Marines to serve under General Williams; THE ONLY HUMAN to EVER surrender to those Turian Bastards! I will not serve with another Williams just to have another surr..." 

The Lieutenant was cut short by Neira grabbing him by his throat and began squeezing. "That's ENOUGH out of you! You maybe a Lieutenant, but you're a Civil Servant Peace Officer! She's a Marine and out ranks you as such. I whole heartedly agree with what her Grandfather did. By surrendering, he saved thousands of military and civilian lives a like. Do you have any idea what it takes for a person to enter into a profession where their ENTIRE family is blacklisted!?" 

Ashley looked down and frowned. "It- it's ok Neira." 

" **LIKE HELL IT IS!"** Both Neira and Sierra yelled simultaneously. "you're more than a friend to us Ash, you're like a sister. We've known each other since we were kids." 

Neira then threw the Lt against the wall. "Just so we're clear on the subject Daniels, my..." Neira stopped and glanced at her sister and motioned between them. "Our father completely agreed with the General's surrender. In fact, as you very well know our father is called the hero of the First Contact War. He was the only person to stand up for General Williams at his hearing. That's why he was never court martialed or lost his rank, although it did cost him and his family to be unjustly blacklisted. I… we will always stand up to bat for a Williams!" Neira chastised the Lieutenant. 

"If you can't handle working with a Williams, then I strongly suggest you remove those bars and go and hide with the rest of the civilians." Sierra belittled him even further. 

Daniels sat there and rubbed his throat as he listened to the Shepard twins yell at him and sighed in defeat, and slowly got to his feet. "I don't have to like it, but right now we do need every available police and military. It was decided that as this is a resort colony, no stationed military, police only." He looked over at the three girls sighing. 

"Follow me and get equipped." Lieutenant Daniels led the girls to the back and to the elevator. They went three floors down in complete silence. Once out of the elevator however, the scene was complete chaos as officers were running around and bumping into each other as they were trying to gear up. 

"Unbelievable." Ashley sighed. 

"Hey, we aren't equipped or trained for something like this, all we deal with normally is some petty crimes with an occasional high profile kidnapping. Not an invasion." 

"Regardless… You're police officers, act like it." Sierra shot back. 

Neira pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head. She then let out a shrieking whistle that stopped everyone in their tracks. "LT. Give me the rundown on what your people can do, and I'll sort this mess out." 

Daniels scanned his officers before replying. "Chief, of the officers in this bunker before us, we only have beat cops, detectives, and three S.W.A.T. Officers." 

Neira looked at the Officers and Detectives exasperated. "Any biotics among you? If so step forth." 

Six of the twenty-five stepped forward. 

"You six, step to the left side of the room. S.W.A.T. Officers to the right." 

Six Officers stepped to the right. 

Neira looked to the left then to the right, and finally to the rest. "Ok. My name is Neira Shepard and this is my sister Sierra, and yes before you start asking yes we are the daughters of _the_ Christopher Shepard. 

Neira pointed to the six on the left. "You six are with me." She then pointed to the six on the right. "You six are with her. Her name is Ashley Williams, and yes she is the daughter of General Williams, and so help me if I hear one word about her grandfather, or any report that none of you listens to her, so help me The Batarians will be the least of your worries… DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR!" 

"CRYSTAL!" They shouted out with obvious fear in their faces and voices. 

"Good, the rest of you including you LT will be under my sister. Now, Biotics unit will be a hybrid support and artillery, Ashley's unit which by the way Corporal Williams is _THE_ best sniper the military has produced since the twenty-second Century according to Systems Alliance Military databases, so you'd be wise to listen to her. Ashley, your unit will be Recon and Sniping. The rest, well you're the grunts." 

Neira rubbed her chin in thought. "LT to be brutally honest against an army even though they're just slavers we don't have the numbers here. I need you to patch me through to the shelter. I'm going to have to do something that I really don't want to do, but we're in desperation. Sie, Contact Systems Alliance Command and get us reinforcements yesterday. Ashley, you and your unit move out we need recon ASAP!" 

"Aye aye." 

Ashley went to the lockers and quickly put on a suit of White with pink trim Phoenix armor and grabbed her a sniper rifle and her unit took off. 

Lieutenant Daniels walked over to Neira. "What's your plan?" 

"Unfortunately, I'm going to have to recruit any and all able bodied civies. If we don't get more bodies, we're looking at a slaughter." She sighed. 

"I don't like it, but I agree, we don't have much choice. Patching you through." 

"Attention Emergency Shelters. This is Systems Alliance Operations Chief Neira Shepard. Daughter of famed War Hero Christopher Shepard. I don't like what I'm about to ask, but in desperate times desperate measures are needed. As we all know, this is One of our premier tourist destinations across the Galaxy. The thing is we're faced with something that took us by complete surprise and were caught with our proverbial pants down. Batarian Raiders and slavers have landed, and what we have for a police force and what little of military here on R&R won't cut it. So, we are in need of civilian assistance. If any of you civilians are biotic and or have any training with firearms, please come to the Police Bunker near the Terra Arms hotel. I know I'm asking a lot, but as history has shown us throughout time us Humans don't back down, and in dire times civilians have taken up arms to fight along side the military to help defend their lands and property. I know things are a little different here, as not many of you actually own land or property here, but we're fighting for something even more precious… _**OUR FREEDOM.**_ As I previously stated we're being attacked by Batarian Slavers. They aren't here for your property or riches, they're here to _**ENSLAVE**_ us! Come help support us and fight back for our way of life and our freedom." Neira nodded to the Lieutenant who disconnected the comm. 

"That was a hell of an inspirational speech Chief." Daniels said still with a weary look on his face. 

"I just hope it's enough..." 

Just then Neira's Omni Tool began beeping. "Go ahead Ash." 

"We're still scouting, but I was just informed that there's an exodus of civilians making their way to your Bunker."

The corners of Neira's lips curled up in a grin. "Don't mind them Ash, that's my doing. We're going to need all the help we can get." 

"Roger that." 

Minutes later about two hundred and fifty or so civilians entered the Police Bunker and an Officer that was waiting for them led them to where everyone else was.

Once they were all together, Neira smiled. "Thank you all for coming. We would be hard pressed without your help. Now the Biotics among you go over to the left side of the room, the rest of you grab whatever weapons you can and any armor if you need. I'm Neira Shepard, and will be leading the Biotics team." Neira put her hand on her sister's shoulder. "This is my twin sister Sierra, and she'll be leading the rest of you. Now if we want the best chances of success, you all will need to obey everything that we tell you to do." 

Neira took a moment to look the room over before continuing. "Biotics… our main job once the enemy gets in close will be in a support role keeping biotic barriers up, but before they get in close we will be acting as biotic artillery. Although some of you won't be doing much ranged, you will be constructing biotic barriers for the rest of us." 

"Alright grunts- we'll be occupying buildings taking to the upper floors for a height advantage as well as creating a kill zone as both sides of the streets will be occupied. We have a recon and sniper team already out." 

Sierra looked back to her sister. "Neira, I would like you to keep twelve biotics on the roof of the shelter, six to keep the shelter covered in a barrier, the others as artillery. The same for the Police Station and Bunker." 

Neira nodded. Twelve civilians from the grunt force stepped forward with one stepping a little more up front. "Excuse us, we may not be combatants, but us twelve are Systems Alliance Research and Development Omni division. Although this was our vacation, we took our work with us. We've been developing man portable turrets, but they aren't battlefield tested yet." He explained. 

Neira instantly pointed to six of her biotics. "You six will accompany them and provide barriers. If those turrets work, they will help consider..." 

Neira's Omni started to beep again. "Go ahead Ash." 

"Got a sighting. We have Batarians, Vorcha, Krogan, Varren, and a few security mechs. The Krogan, Varren, and Vorcha are wearing the mark of the Blood Pack." 

Neira stood there in silence as her mind worked. "Ash, set your units up on roof tops. Take out the mechs first, and remember to go warp ammo on the Krogans to stymie their regeneration once you drop their shields." 

"One step ahead of 'ya on that front Red _._ " Ashley replied using her pet nickname for Neira due to her blood red hair with black streaks. 

The battle for Elysium raged on for almost two and a half hours when desperation started to kick in for the Elysium forces as they were starting to run out of ammo and the Biotics units were starting to tire out.

Daniels fell backward as the barrier around him faltered and a Varren lunged at him. All he could do was closes his eyes and await his brutal end that never happened. When he opened his eyes, he saw the Varren lying dead beside him, and Ashley standing at a nearby rooftop staring down the scope of her still smoking sniper rifle. Finally lifting it and just gave a look at Daniels. Said look etched in his mind stating _That's right General Williams' Granddaughter just saved your ass…_

Ashley then turned to reenter the fray. Neira frowned as she could feel her biotic energy started to waver as her blue corona started to flicker. Then a giant shadow covered the ground. As Neira started to look up, she could hear cheers from the Elysium forces when she noticed the sky was filled with Alliance Kodiaks.

After about another hour the Batarian forces were in full retreat. Neira leaned back against a wall and just slid down to the ground with her barrier and corona fading from existence with exhaustion. 

Neira had her knees drawn up to her chest and arms draped upon the top of her knees when a long shadow fell upon her. When she looked up, all she could see was the silhouette of a man standing over her with his hand held out to her. 

"Good job Chief. With very little resources available to you, you rallied the civilians and paltry police force here and managed to hold back the Batarians until we could arrive. There's a Medal of Valor headed your way." A deep voice congratulated her. 

Once on her feet, she noticed the guy was black, but wore Captain's stripes, and was wearing N7 Camo. 

Neira knowing never to salute on the battlefield fought the urge to salute. "Thank you sir, but there was no way I could've achieved this without the help of my unit. My sister Sierra Shepard and our closest friend and academy sister Ashley Williams Sir." 

The man nodded. "The name's Anderson… Captain David Anderson, and I can appreciate that. The three of you are well deserving of multiple medals here. 

At that, Sierra and Ashley caught up with them and like Neira fought the urge to salute as there was still some fighting going on. "Like I was telling the Operations Chief here, congratulations are in order for the three of you. You did an exceptional job here considering you three just graduated from the academy a year ago. As I was also saying, I'm personally going to submit your name for the N7 Program Corpral. 

Ashley looked down and frowned. "Something wrong Corporal? I would think that would be great news for you?" Anderson asked confused at her reaction. 

"Sir, if I was anyone else I would be jumping for joy to be nominated for the N7 by a legend such as yourself Sir, but the truth is it will never happen. The _Brass_ will just throw out your nomination and most likely any ribbons or medals." 

Captain Anderson raised a brow, and the sisters put a soft hand on both of her shoulders. "Oh, and why is that?" 

"In case you don't know sir, I'm Corporal Ashley Williams, granddaughter of General Williams. My family has been blacklisted by the military." 

Anderson rubbed his chin and his face betrayed a hint of surprise. "I must admit, it takes a very hard person to enter a profession where there entire family is blacklisted." 

"A Williams has to be better than the rest- if only to remove any and all suspicion. Something my father would say all the time Sir. 

"Well Williams, I will make sure you get some sort of acknowledgment for your roll here. With all of our advances, the unification of Earth, and yet we still let the stigma of what an ancestor did judge their descendants. I personally think your grandfather made the right call, but that's just the opinion of one soldier." 

That caused Ashley to look up at the Captain with a smile. Anderson extended his hand and Ashley gladly accepted. 

**A/N: Please rate and review, I love hearing from my readers, but no flaming... if you don't like it, don't read it, it's that simple no need to get beligerant.**

 **also, if anyone notices any errors especially gramatical. let me know so I can fix them, thank you**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Haven't heard anything from my beta reader, so hopefully this next chapter is alright**

 **I don't own Mass Effect**

 **CHAPTER 2**

After all the fighting was done and the girls continued their vacation. The three were summoned to Alliance Command. When their shuttle landed, it was Neira's and Sierra's Uncle Admiral Hackett that met the three heroes of Elysium. Hackett was dressed in his Dress Blues. 

When the three disembarked, they immediately dropped their bags, snapped to attention, and saluted. Hackett returned the salute. "At ease." 

Hackett smiled at his nieces. "You did excellent work girls." He smiled, than gave a dour look over to Ashley. "As did you Corporal." The twins could hear the disdain in their uncle's voice. 

Neira stepped in front of her uncle. "I don't care if you're my Uncle, an Admiral or the goddamned President… Ashley is more than just our friend, she's a goddamned good soldier. If it wasn't for her, there would be no way we would've been as successful as we were… SIR!" 

"Still as hot tempered as always I see Neira. I read the report, even Captain Anderson's recommendation. That's precisely why she's getting awarded along with you. Doesn't mean I have to like the Granddaughter of a coward..." 

"COWARD! You should be ashamed of yourself Uncle Admiral Sir! What General Williams did, was save countless military and civilian lives. We aren't some barbaric civilization that throws away the lives of thousands of military and civilians just to win a battle. He did the right thing, and if I was in his place, I would've done the same thing!" 

Sierra grabbed hold of her twin. "Calm down sis, this isn't the time or place." 

Ashley walked in front of Neira and faced her. Her big chestnut brown eyes filling the view of Neira's rage fueled Emerald green eyes. "Shhh… It… It's ok Neira. I'm used to it." Ashley said in a calm and soothing voice. 

Neira took a deep breath and let it out. "It's not right and not fair. You weren't even born. No matter what other big-headed bigots think, they shouldn't hold his actions against his descendants. You're more than a good soldier Ash. You're the best damned sniper the Alliance has produced in centuries, a fine tactician, and a great friend. If I have anything to say about it, I'll want you on all my teams." 

Hackett raised a brow seeing how easily Ashley defused Neira. "Calmed down now Neira?" Hackett asked. 

Neira shot him a glare. "I have never asked much of my family, and try to avoid being known as the daughter of the Hero of the First Contact war… however, I do ask that my family show respect to someone who deserves it..." 

"Ceremony's at 1300 hours at the parade grounds, Dress Blues required of all three of you. Dismissed." 

Aye, aye Sir!" The three girls saluted and grabbed their bags.

* * *

The following week took the girls by complete surprise as it was total chaos. First was the ceremony honoring the heroes of Elysium where all three received the Distinguished Service Medal, Both Shepard sisters were promoted. Neira to Lieutenant and Sierra to Operations chief. Ashley even got a promotion to Sargent. Then there was a parade, countless interviews, and even talks of a movie of which the Navy shot down. 

In the weeks that followed, the sisters along with Ashley who was now in the 1005th had a very successful campaign against Pirates raiding colonies on the edge of the Terminus systems. 

That campaign took two years in which afterward Alliance Command got word of a Batarian gathering preparing to strike at the Alliance for what happened at Elysium. The Shepards and the 1005th were sent to the moon of Torfan with orders to completely wipe out the Batarian terrorists. 

Torfan would prove to be a turning point in Neira Shepards fast growing legacy. Ever since Elysium, she's harbored a deep hatred for Batarians, and the events of Torfan would wind up making her hatred grow exponentially. 

The Batarians were heavily entrenched in the underground tunnel network. The fighting was brutal and intense. Even though the Batarians were taking heavy losses, so were the Alliance forces. 

"Lieutenant, this is crazy. We're being butchered in there." 

"SHUT IT FRANKLIN!" Neira ordered Sargent Benjamin Franklin. "Our orders are total wipe out of those six-eyed bastards!" Neira barked back. 

A little further up, Ashley was fighting with her sniper rifle that jammed. Before she knew it. She heard her name being yelled and then the visor of her mask being covered in blood. 

Neira stood motionless in shock as the scene seemed to unfold before her eyes in slow-motion. 

Ashley was unjamming her rifle when Sierra leaped at Ashley when a sniper round punched through not only her barrier, but took down her shields, and went straight through her body spraying Ashley's face in a crimson mist. 

Neira slowly turned her head down the tunnel. Her body erupted in a blue corona which started to darken and became almost like a blood red. Neira charged halfway down the tunnel. The incoming rounds seemed to be coming at her at an increased state of slow-motion making it rather easy for her to dodge before slamming her hands together releasing a wave of crimson biotic energy that tore down the tunnel almost like a fiery explosion in a tight confining shaft. 

She then ran to her sister and Ashley. Neira saw Sierra's hand upon Ashley's cheek. "Ash… Promise me… promise me no matter what happens between the two of you, if Neira ever needs you, that you will always be there for her. You know how she can get, and that you are the _ONLY_ person that has ever been able to calm her rage. You may not know this, but she truly loves you… more than a friend and a sister..." 

Tears were streaming down Ashley's blood splattered face. "I… I promise. I promise I will always be there if she ever needs me." 

Neira came sliding in on her knees just as Sierra's hand slid limply from Ashley's face. "N… No, No don't do this Sie…" Sierra's head turned to face Neira. A small smile came across her lips before her eyes closed and her chest rose and fell one last time. **"SIERRA!"** Neira cried out. 

After a couple minutes of grieving. Neira got to her feet. "Ash… take my sister's body, and evacuate the tunnels with what's left of your unit." 

"What about you?" 

No Batarian will be left in here alive, I'll be along shortly." Neira turned and her body erupted in that blood red corona and started back down the tunnel. A cruel grin crept upon her lips as she passed the charred remains of the dead Batarians that were caught in her first infernal blast. As she rounded the corner she noticed several narrow passages. Neira pulled up her Omni-tool and searched for bio signatures. The Omni-tool only registered signatures down the main passage and the four small passages. After a few more various scans, her Omni-tool beepped alerting her that down two of the side passages were stockpiles of highly volatile explosive gas. 

Neira closed her eyes and did some mathematical calculations in her head. _Let's see, the stockpiles are down the first passage on the left and the second passage on the right. If I send another infernal blast down the center at half power. There would be enough back blast to go down all four passages and igniting the canisters. Having half my biotic power left concentrating half of that on my barrier and the other half on a Biotic Charge, I should be able to make_ _it_ _back out before the whole place collapses around me…_

Neira took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She stepped out into the main passage concentrating half of her red corona into her infernal blast, then erected her barrier, finally sprinting out with the aid of her Biotic Charge. Neira could feel the heat from the explosion behind her as she charged trying to dodge the debris of the collapsing tunnel. 

Ashley and the remaining third of her unit watched in horror as they heard the explosions from underground and saw as fire, dust, and smoke belched out of the mouth of the tunnel network. 

"N… no… this isn't happening…. **NEIRA!** " Ashley cried out as some of the soldiers were holding her back. 

"There's movement in the smoke… get ready in case it's any Batarians." Someone cried out. The remaining soldiers all got into firing positions _._

The movement in the smoke began to take on a humanoid shape eventually emerging in the form of a familiar black N7 armor with red accents slowly walked forth seemingly in slow motion. The soldiers lowered their weapons and Ashley ran to her friend hugging her thankful that she survived. 

"I… I thought I lost you too..." She cried in Neira's embrace. 

"Ash, it's me you're talking about..." Neira chuckled. "My Biotics can rival that of the strongest of Asari Commandos, possibly even a Matriarch." 

"You're still only Human Neira, and as such as much as you don't want to believe it. You're not infallible." 

"Neira sighed. "You're right, and I'm sorry I worried you, but I had to take out those bastards for killing Sie..." 

"I… I know, she was my friend too… more than a friend, like you, she was my sister..." 

Neira cupped the sides of Ashley's helmet and stared into her reddened chestnut brown eyes. "I know Ash, but I couldn't lose you too." Neira explained softly. 

The two walked back to the rest of the troops. Neira spotted her Commander, Major Kyle sitting on a rock. His hands visibly shaking. She walked in front of him and saluted. "Mission successful Major." 

Major Kyle slowly looked up at her. "Y… You call this a success? Sure the mission is accomplished, but look at the price… how many good men and women died here?" 

"With all due respect sir, the orders were total wipe of those bastards. They were planning on a major strike. They had large stockpiles of weapons ranging from small arms to rockets and missiles." 

"I don't care the cost was too high LT." 

"Don't lecture me on the _cost_ Major! Among the dead is my twin sister… we're soldiers, we all knew when we signed up at our respective recruiting stations that we all could die in the line of combat. We sacrifice ourselves, to keep our friends, families, and the Alliance as a whole safe! What the fuck do you think would've happened if we weren't here?" Neira chastised her CO. 

Major Kyle stared at his hands. "So much blood… it won't come off..." He whimpered. 

Ashley put a hand on Neira's shoulder. "Come, he's lost it."

 **AN: Please R &R let me know how you like the story, depending on responses is if I'll continue**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I do not own Mass Effect** **only my OC(s). This is an AU story with my FemShep with a twist, making her a super biotic. Also will later be romancing with Ashley. Depending on how things go, I plan on writing this through all 3 games.**

 ****

 **Chapter 3**

 ****

Ambassador Donell Udina, Earth's Ambassador to the Citadel walked into the Council chamber. There awaiting him was Councilor Tevos the Asari Councilor, Councilor Valern the Salarian Councilor, and Councilor Sparatus the Taurian Councilor. Udina approached the podium and awaited to see what he was needed for.

"Thank you for coming Ambassador." Tevos began. 

"We've been holding council on a matter that concerns Humans, the Council, and the galaxy at large." Councilor Sparatus added. 

"Although not unanimous, but after a very long deliberation and heavy consideration, by a vote of two to one..." Councilor Valern began. 

"Although I still don't think Humanity is ready for this, a majority vote has been reached. Ambassador, our decision that it's time to try Humanity once again to have another candidacy for the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance, or Specters." Councilor Sparatus stated stoically. 

"You must choose wisely, as only one Human can be considered, make sure that your choice is amongst the best of the best that Humanity has to offer." Councilor Tevos concluded. 

Udina kept a straight poker face and bowed his head to the Councilors. "We are honored, I'll get right on it." 

At that, Ambassador Udina hastily exited the Council chambers and made haste to his office. 

Ambassador Udina made his way to his office and as soon as he sat down, he placed a hollow call to Admiral Hackett. 

The holographic form of the Admiral to Earth's fifth fleet materialized. "How's things going on the Citadel Udina?" 

"They just got very interesting for all of Humanity Sir." He replied. 

"Oh, and how's that?" The Admiral asked with his interest piqued. 

"I just got back from the Council Chambers from being summoned, they're give Humanity another chance at the Specters Sir." 

Admiral Hackett rubbed his chin. "Call up Captain Anderson, as he was our last candidate. I want his input as well." 

"Right away Sir." At that, Udina placed another holo call to Captain David Anderson. 

Captain Anderson accepted the call, and right away saw that it was a conference call as Admiral Hackett was there as well. "Admiral, Ambassador- what can I do for you?" 

"Captain, the Council is giving Humanity another chance at the Specters. We need to comprise a list of candidates, and narrow it down to just one as per instructed by the council." Udina responded to Anderson's inquiry. 

Both Captain Anderson and Admiral Hackett closed their eyes and contemplated on names and accomplishments. 

Udina tapped his chin, and then his eyes shot wide. "Well, what about Shepard? She's a spacer. Lived aboard starships most of her life." 

"As we all know, Military service runs in her family. Both of her parents were in the navy. Hell, she was born aboard the SSV Hyderbad." Anderson stated. 

"She and her sister proved themselves during the Blitz. Held off enemy forces on the ground until reinforcements arived, however... niece or not, She got most of her unit killed on Torfan, including her own twin sister." 

"She gets the job done. No matter what the cost." Anderson added. 

"Is that the kind of person we want protecting the Galaxy?" Udina asked. 

"That's the only kind of person who can protect the galaxy." Captain Anderson responded. 

"I'll... make the call." Udina said hesitantly not truly behind the decision.

* * *

 **USV Normandy**

"Commander, we're approaching the relay," Joker's voice could be heard over the comm. 

"Roger that Joker," Neira plainly responded. 

Neira left her office wearing her medium Onyx armor that was customized with deep red accents. She marched to the bridge with purpose. Personell that saw her approach made way for her. Neira has made a reputation for herself. She was a one woman elite squad going into hellish situations and comming out for the most part unscathed. 

Ever since Alliance Brass seperated her from her best friend Ashley Williams, the only person that could reel her in, she's been a very hard woman garnering the nickname of _Demon_ for good reasons. She made her peers and subordinates very uneasy. 

Finally ariving in the cockpit, she stood behind Joker, the best pilot in all the Alliance, and stood beside their guest, Nihilus a Turian Spectre. 

"The board is green, approach run has begun," Joker sounded off. 

The Normandy made its approach to the Mass Relay, a Mass Transit system that was created by the mysterious extinct Protheans of which almost all advanced technology is based off of. 

"Hitting the Relay in 3...2...1..." Joker counted. 

The Mass Relay flared, and light bluish beams grabbed hold of the Normandy thrusting her and her crew through FTL space successfully. 

"Thrusters... check. Navigation... check. Internal emissions sink engaged. All systems online. Drift... just under 1500K," Joker stated going over the post transit readouts. 

"1500 is good, your Captain will be pleased," Nihlus commented stoically before turning and walking off. 

"I hate that guy," Joker said softly. 

"Nihlus gave you a compliment, so you hate him?" Kaiden Alenko asked in disbelief. 

"You remember to zip up your jumpsuit on your way out of the bathroom? That's good. I just jumped us halfway across the galaxy and hit a target the size of a pinhead. So that's incredible! Besides, Spectres are trouble. I don't like having him on board, call me paranoid," Joker responded in his usual sarcastic way. 

"You're paranoid. The Council helped fund this project. They have a right to send someone to keep an eye on their investment," Alenko countered. 

"That's the _official_ story, but only an idiot believes the official story," Joker said skeptically. 

"I agree. They don't send Spectres on shakedown runs." Neira commented. 

"So there's more going on here than the Captain is letting on." Joker added trying to analyze the real reason Nihlus was there. 

The Comm buzzed. "Joker! Status report," Captain Anderson called out. 

"Just cleared the Mass Relay, Captain. Stealth systems engaged. Everything looks solid," Joker responded. 

"Good find a comm buoy and link us into the network. I want mission reports relayed back to Alliance brass before we reach Eden Prime," Anderson ordered. 

"Aye, Aye, Captain. Better brace yourself, sir. I think Nihlus is headed your way." Joker replied. 

"He's already here Lieutenant," Anderson replied exasperated at Joker's comment. "Tell Commander Shepard to meet me in the comm room for a debriefing," Then the Comm clicked off. 

"You get that Commander?" Joker asked. 

"You made him mad... Great, you pissed off the Captain and now I'm going to pay for it," Neira sighed then turned and walked towards the comm room. 

"Pfft. Don't blame me, the Captain's always in a bad mood." 

"Only when he's talking to you Joker," Kaiden responded to Joker's snide remark. 

"I'm telling you, I just saw him! He marched by like he was on a mission, and we're getting dragged right along with him!" Navigator Pressely was talking to Chief Engineer Adams over the comm as Neira was approaching. 

"Relax, Pressley. You're going to give yourself an ulcer." The engineer responded back. 

Pressley turned and saluted Commander Shepard. "Congratulations Commander, looks like we had a smooth run. You heading down to see the Captain?" He asked. 

"He wants to see me. I'm on my way to give him a status update right now," Neira replied. 

"With all due respect, ma'am. Maybe he'll finally tell you what we're really doing out here," Pressley stated a little on the uneasy side. 

"What do you mean? You think the Alliance brass is holding out on us?" Neira asked. 

Like some people, Pressley raised his hand slightly. "If all we're supposed to do is test out the stealth system, why is Captain Anderson in charge? And then there's Nihlus. Spectres are elite operatives. Top covert agents. Why send a Spectre- a Turian Spectre on a shakedown run? It doesn't add up." The Navigator replied. 

"I'll look into it. I'll see if I can get some answers when I see him." Neira said softly as her mind started to puzzle on both what Joker and Pressley were saying. 

"Good luck Commander," Pressley said before going back to his station. 

As Neira was approaching the Comm room, she could hear a conversation between Corpral Jenkins and Dr. Chakwas. 

"I grew up on Eden Prime, Doc. It's not the kind of place Spectres visit. There's something Nihlus isn't telling us about this mission," Jenkins said puzzled. 

"That's crazy. The Captain's in charge here. He wouldn't take orders from a Spectre," Doctor Chakwas reasoned. 

Neira approached the two, and they turned to look at the Commander. "What do you think Commander? We won't be staying on Eden Prime too long, will we? I'm itching for some real action!" Jenkins asked eagerly. 

"I sincerely hope you're kidding Corporal. Your _real action_ usually ends with me patching up crew members in the infirmary." Chakwas countered. 

"Part of the job, Doc. Marines are meant to fight. You just fix us up when we're done." Neira replied flatly. 

"I know how things work, Commander. I've seen my share of combat, but it's foolish to go looking for trouble. You both could take a lesson from the Captain. He's not afraid of combat, but he knows the value of restraint, too." The doctor contended looking at both the Commander and the young Corporal. 

"Sorry, Doc. But this waiting's killing me. I've never been on a mission like this before. Not one with a Spectre on board!" Jenkins said both appologetically and eagerly. 

"It's just another mission. Do your job, follow my orders, and there won't be any problems," The commander said a little cold. 

"Easy for you to say, you've proven yourself both on Elysium and Torfan. Everyone knows what you can do. This is my big chance. I need to show the brass what I can do!" 

Before the corproal could utter another word, Neira had him slammed and pinned against the wall. Her eyes briefly flashing red. "Don't play the hero! This mission isn't about personal glory, Corporal! We have a job to do. Don't do anything stupid to mess it up!" She growled letting go of the Corporal who dropped to his hands and knees and rubbed his throat. 

Neira towered over him glaring down at him. "In every mission I've been on, including Torfan and Elysium, of which the latter I was there on vacation mind you. I NEVER once was out for personal glory! I have seen dozens of Marines like you eager to prove themselves- you know what? Not a single one of them is alive today!" Neira yelled at Jenkins, her eyes flaring red. 

Neira stormed off to the Comm room, while Chakwas knelt down to check on Jenkins. When Neira walked in, she stopped and took a few breaths to calm herself down. She noticed that only Nihlus was there at the moment and walked up to the Turian who had his back to her. 

Nihlus turned to face the Commander. "Commander Shepard. I was hoping you'd get here first. It would give us a chance to talk." 

"Where's Captain Anderson? The Captain said he'd meet me here," Neira asked. 

"He's on his way," Nihlus started to pace as he addressed the Commander. "I'm interested in this world we're going to– Eden Prime. I've heard it's quite beautiful." 

"So what? I'm a Marine, not some tourist on vacation." Neira stated slightly agitated at the statement. 

"It's more than a tourist destination, isn't it Shepard? Eden Prime is a symbol of your people- a perfect little world on the edges of your territory. Proof that humanity can not only establish colonies across the galaxy, but protect them. But how safe is it, really?" Nihlus asked both looking at Shepard and pacing around. 

"Is that a threat? Are you trying to scare me Spectre? If so, you're doing a very piss poor job at it..." Neira responded stoically. 

Nihlus half turned around, but turned his head fully to face Neira. "You're people are still newcomers Shepard. The galaxy can be a very dangerous place. Is the Alliance truly ready for this?" The Spectre asked just as Captain Anderson walked in and joined them. 

"I think it's time we told the Commander what's really going on," Anderson said. 

"This mission is far more than a simple shakedown run." Nihlus started. 

"Well, that's obvious... doesn't take a genius to realize this. Hell even Joker, Pressley, and myself have already figured that out... we all know something's not right about this supposed _shakedown_ run." 

"We're making a covert pick-up on Eden Prime. That's why we needed the stealth systems operational," Captain Anderson explained. 

"You should've told me. You of all people should know I don't like being kept in the dark, Captain," Neira respectfully said to her friend and mentor. 

"I know, I know, but this comes down from the top Commander. Information on a strictly need-to-know basis. A research team on Eden Prime unearthed some kind of beacon during an excavation. It was Prothean." 

"Prothean? Thought the Protheans vanished 50,000 years ago?" Neira said somewhat surprised. 

"Their legacy still remains. The Mass Relays, the Citadel, our ship drives-– it's all based on Prothean technology," Nihlus explained. 

"This is big Shepard. The last time humanity made a discovery like this, it jumped our technology forward two hundred years. But Eden Prime doesn't have the facilities to handle something like this. We need to bring the beacon back to the Citadel for proper study," Anderson stated. 

"Obviously this goes beyond mere Human interests, Commander. This discovery could effect every species in Citadel space," Nihlus added. 

"Why did we tell the Council? Why didn't we keep the beacon for ourselves?" Neira simply asked. 

"You Humans don't have the best reputations. Some species see you as selfish. Too unpredictable. Too independant. Even dangerous," Nihlus explained. 

"Sharing that beacon will improve relations with the Council. Plus we need their Scientific expertise. They know more about the Protheans than we do," The Captain added. 

"The beacon isn't the only reason I'm here Shepard." Nihlus stated while leaning on a rail. 

"Nihlus wants to see you in action, Commander. He's here to evaluate you," Anderson explained. 

"Like hell he is! Since when do we answer to the Spectres?" Neira growled, her eyes flared red slightly. 

"You're smart enough to know how things work, Commander. The Alliance has been pushing for this for a long time. Humanity wants a larger role in shaping interstellar policy. We want more say with the Citadel Council. The Spectres represent the Council's power and authority. If they accept a Human into their ranks, it shows how far the Alliance has come," Anderson explained. 

"I was impressed with the reports I read from Torfan, a grim buisness. My condolences about your twin. But you got the job done, More so, I was extremely impressed with the report on what happened on Elysium as you were there as a tourist after graduating from your N7 training. That's why I put your name forward as a candidate for the Spectres," Nihlus said. 

"What if I refuse? I don't like people making decisions about _**MY**_ future." Neira sneered emphasizing the word my. 

"Damn it Neira, this isn't about **you.** Shepard, Humanity needs this. We're counting on you," Captain Anderson said frustrated with Neira's stubborness, but he knows just how hard headed she can be. 

"I need to see your skills for myself, Shepard. Eden Prime will be the first of several missions together," Nihlus explained. 

"You'll be in charge of the ground team. Secure the beacon, and get it on the ship ASAP. Nihlus will accompny you to observe the mission," Anderson explained briefing Shepard on the details of the mission. 

"I'm ready to go. Just give the word, Captain," Neira responded doing her best to reel in her emotions on the ordeal. 

"We should be getting close to Eden-" Anderson started before being interupted by the comm. 

"Captain! We got a problem," Joker interrupted with urgency very evident in the usual sarcastic voice of the pilot. 

"What's wrong Joker?" The Captain asked concerned. 

"Transmission from Eden Prime, you better see this!" Joker replied. 

"Bring it up on screen." At that the three turned to face the viewscreen. 

When the screen came to life, the first image was of a fire fight, and a female Marine wearing a white with pink accented suit of Phoenix armor sprinting to the camera yelling at the person to get down, shoving them to the ground before turning her assault rifle on whoever they were fighting. 

Neira's fists instantly clenched tight as there was no mistaking the voice of her best friend Ashley Williams. 

The camera became wobbly as it panned in the direction Ashley was shooting making it hard to see what was going on. Shepard quickly looked to the Captain, then back to the screen grinding her teeth in a mixture of anger, frustration, and the sense of helplessness as she wasn't planetside to assure her best friend's safety. 

"We're under attack! Taking heavy casualties. I repeat, heavy casualties! We can't... argh!... -eed evac! They came out of nowhere. We need-" An officer was reporting to the camera before an explosion rocked the area flinging him backwards. 

The camera then showed the soldiers stop firing as they were looking to the sky in shock. The camera panned its view and tilted skywards to see an unknown massive bluish ship, with four insectoid-like leg appendages coming down, and producing a reddish electricity that arced upwards. 

The screen then went snowy. "Everything cuts out after that. No comm trafic at all. It just goes dead. There's nothing," Joker reported softly in a solemn voice. 

"Reverse and hold at 38.5" Anderson told Joker. 

Joker reversed the feed to 38.5 and held as asked. The image was of the ship that looked insectoid, but was eminating a reddish electricity. Nihlus just stared at it, his mandables flaring. 

"Status report." Anderson ordered. 

"Seventeen minutes out, Captain. No other Alliance ships in the area." Joker reported. 

"Take us in Joker. Fast and quiet. This mission just got more complicated," Anderson ordered, then looked to Nihlus. 

"A small strike team can move quickly without drawing attention. It's our best chance to secure the beacon," Nihlus stated. 

"Grab your..." Captain Anderson started as he was turning to face where Shepard was standing only to see empty space. _Shit, this is going to be trouble... if something happens to Williams down there, then Lord only knows what's going to happen to Neira's psyche..._ Anderson thought to himself. 

" **JENKINS, ALENKO!** Gear up and get your asses to the cargo hold yesterday!" Neira barked her orders. She then went to the armory to gear herself. 

The Normandy made it's planetary approach. "Engaging stealth systems." Joker called out. 

At the armory, Neira looked carefully. A smirk crept across her face as she spotted a single Hane-Kedar Avenger Mk II sniper rifle. She grabbed that, retracting it and placing it on her armor's upper back weapon slot. She then grabbed her pair of Hane-Kedar Shadow Works Cobra Mk IV pistols and placed them both on her hips. Finally grabbing a Hane-Kedar Storm Mk III Shotgun. She then stormed off to the cargo hold. 

Joker flew in low. The sky was red from fires. "Someone was doing some serious digging here, Captain," Joker reported. 

In the Cargo hold, The Captain Addressed Shepard, Alenko, Jenkins, and Nihlus. "Your team's the muscle in this operation, Commander. Go in heavy and head satraight for the dig site," Anderson ordered. 

"What about survivors, Captain?" Alenko asked. 

"Helping survivors are a secondary objective. The beacon's your top priority," Anderson answered. 

"Approaching drop point one," Joker notified the ground team. 

Jenkins turned to look at the Turian. "Nihlus? You're coming with us?" He asked of the Spectre. 

"I move faster on my own," He replied while checking his assault rifle before running and jumping out of the open cargo bay door. 

"Nihlus will scout out ahead. He'll feed you status reports throughout the mission; otherwise, I want radio silence," The Captain ordered his team. He then turned and looked straight at Neira with hard eyes. "And I mean that Commander. I know she's down there, but..." 

"Can we trust him? With all due respect sir, I don't like putting my life, or the lives of my men in the hands of a Turian, sir." Shepard commented sharply. 

"Nihlus is on our side. He wants you in the Spectres, and he wants that beacon." Anderson calmly explained to the hot tempered red-headed Commander. 

"Understood sir. Ready and Able, sir!" 

"The missions yours now, Shepard. Good luck," Anderson said confident in his XO. 

At that, the Normandy made another turn. "We're nearing drop point two," Joker notified them. Once the Normandy started to Hover Shepard's team jumped from the Normandy to the planet's surface. 

**A/N: having to go back over each chapter to fix a lot of typos. I'm still looking for a beta with no luck so far.**


	4. Chapter 4

**I do not own Mass Effect, this is an AU retelling of my female renegade Shepard, but like originally intended will be romancing Ashley. Squads might be enlarged, haven't decided. There may be some subtle changes, but we'll see when the time comes. Like I said, she's Renegade, but depending on the situation, like I did in my run with her there will be some Paragon choices as well.**

 **CHAPTER 4**

Shepard, Alenko, and Jenkins land on Eden Prime and immediately take up defensive positions. 

"Ship perimeter secure, Commander." Alenko assesses. 

"Oh god. What happened here?" Jenkins asked in shock seeing the destruction around them. 

"This place got hit hard, Commander. Hostiles everywhere. Keep your guard up." Nihlus informed over the radio. 

"Smells like smoke and death." Alenko commented. 

The three Marines slowly and cautiously made there way down the path. Alenko with his pistol at the ready, Jenkins with his Assault Rifle, and Shepard with her twin pistols. 

"Commander… What's with the sniper? You're not trained in it, are you?" Alenko asked. 

"Remember the feed? The Marine in the Phoenix armor. I know her personally, and if she's still alive, she's the best sniper in the entire Alliance." Shepard replied. 

As the three continued on, Alenko spotted a trio of fleshy creatures with tendrils underneath them. "What the hell are those?" He asked. 

"Gas bags. Don't worry, they're harmless." Jenkins answered. 

As they continued down the path, they encountered several burned corpses, but continued on. The path came to a turn with large rocks to the right. Shepard raised her fist signaling Alenko and Jenkins to hold. She knelt down and surveyed the area. Alenko took position to her right and Jenkins to her left. 

Neira finally gave the signal for Jenkins to advance. Jenkins pulled his rifle up, got into his combat stance and looked down the sights. He advanced and took a knee briefly beside Shepard. Shepard looked forward scrutinizing the curving path. Jenkins then got up and slowly advanced. Just as he rounded the corner, three metallic drones came into view and simultaneously opened fire on him. Jenkins let out a scream before dropping. 

Alenko and Shepard quickly entered combat, and opened fire with their pistols dropping the drones. "Negative contacts, Commander." Alenko stated after the drones were destroyed before advancing on to Jenkins' corpse. 

Alenko knelt down and closed Jenkins' eyes. "Ripped right through his shields. Never had a chance." Alenko said solemnly. 

Shepard knelt down opened his armor and took one of his dog tags and put it in one of her pouches. She the stood and faced Alenko. "Forget about him. We have a mission to continue… Once we're done, we'll recover his body." Shepard ordered. 

"Aye, Aye ma'am." 

The two hustled down the path cautiously, and easily took out a couple more drones. "I have some burned out bodies here, Shepard. Lots of bodies. I'm going to check it out. I'll try to catch up with you at the dig site." Nihlus radioed in. 

Alenko and Shepard continued down the path which began going up a slight wooded incline. Three more gun drones tried to ambush them, but Shepard just spun and fired with a double tap from her twin pistols. The first double tap had both shots impacting with one drone causing it to explode. The second double tap hit the remaining two drones which spun and collided with each other blowing themselves up. 

Alenko whistled. "Nice shooting Commander." He said impressed with her dual pistol fighting. 

Ashley Williams was running for her life as she had two gun drones bearing down on her. One got a glancing blow against her shields. Ashley fell forward, spun herself pulling out her pistol. As she landed on her ass, she let out two shots taking out the drones. Down the hill, she could see two unknown robots with a bright light where the face should be. They had a survivor pinning him to some weird device. She looked on as a giant spike impaled the colonist, then took off running in the opposite direction. 

The two robots turned and looked at her just as she took cover behind a rock wall. Ashley began to breathe heavily from both her running and fear. They began advancing on Ashley just as Neira rounded the corner. 

"I don't think so..." Neira muttered under her breath. Alenko jumped backwards as Neira's body ignited in a crimson biotic aura and she sent two blasts of her infernal blast at the two advancing machines turning them into slag. 

"Red?" Ashley said softly as she watched the blasts go by her. When she turned to face the direction the blasts came from, she saw none other than her best friend charging at her. Ashley ran to Shepard, and they met in a giant hug. 

"Are you hurt Ash?" Neira asked in a quivering voice. 

"I… I'm fine. A few scrapes and burns. Nothing serious. The others weren't so lucky." Ashley replied stoically. 

Alenko walked up wide-eyed. "Wh- what was that, Commander?" He asked shaken as he's never seen biotics like that before. 

Neira broke her embrace and turned to face Alenko. "That Lt, was my infernal blast." She explained before turning back to Ashley. "I need a status report now Ash." Neira said in a more authoritative voice. 

Ashley looked down to the ground shaking her head and breathed heavy. "Oh man,… we were patrolling the perimeter when the attack hit." Ashley started as she moved and pointed towards the dig site. 

"We tried to get off a distress call, but they cut off our communications. I've been fighting for my life ever since." She reported facing Neira. Neira could see the fear and pain in her friend's eyes and face. 

"What happened to the rest of your unit? Where's the rest of your squad, Ash?" Neira asked. 

"We tried to double back to the beacon. But we walked into an ambush. I don't think any of the others… I think I'm the only one left." She replied solemnly. 

"Don't blame yourself. This isn't your fault Ash. Trust me, there's nothing you could've done. I'm just glad you're still alive..." Neira said trying to comfort her best friend. 

At that, the two women hugged again. 

"The Geth haven't been seen outside of the veil in nearly 200 years. Why are they here now?" Alenko questioned.

Ashley shrugged. "They must've come for the beacon." She hypothesized. "The dig site is close. Just over that rise. It might still be there." 

"Come with us Ash. We could use your help." Neira said with a smile as she pulled out the sniper rifle that she took for Ash and handed it to her. 

Ashley grinned seeing the sniper. "Aye, aye Red—ma'am. It's time for payback." 

"So, you're the Ashley the Commander is always talking about." Alenko asked of Ashley. 

Ashley turned to face Alenko. "Aye sir. Operations Chief Ashley Williams." 

"I'm impressed with your service record Chief." Alenko complimented. 

"Thanks Lt." Ashley thanked Kaiden. 

"Don't worry Chief, I judge a soldier by who and what they are, not actions of their family." Alenko said with a smile. 

"Thanks again Lt." 

"Alright you two, we have a mission to complete." Neira chuckled, relieved that Alenko is judging her for her and not her grandfather. 

"Chief, tell me everything you know about the beacon." Neira asked going back into Commander mode. 

Hearing Neira refer her by Chief knew that it was time to get serious. "They were doing some digging out here to extend the monorail and expand the colony. A few weeks ago, they unearthed some Prothean ruins… and the beacon. Suddenly every scientific expert in the colony was interested. That's when they brought us in to secure the site. I don't know much about the beacon itself. But I heard one of the researchers say this could be the biggest discovery this century." Ashley answered. 

"And the scientists? What happened to the researchers at the dig site?" Shepard asked pointing in the direction of the dig site. 

"I don't know. They set up camp near the beacon. The 232 was with them. Maybe their unit fared better than mine." Ashley replied. 

"And before the attack? Describe what happened leading up to the attack." Shepard asked. 

"We were sent out a couple nights ago from the main colony to secure the area. Seemed like a routine patrol until the Geth hit us. We never knew they were coming." Ashley responded. 

"Nihlus? Have you seen a Turian Specter around here?" Neira asked. 

"There aren't any Turians on Eden Prime. None that I've ever met. Not sure I'd be able to tell if one was a Specter or not." Ashley replied. 

"If you saw this guy you'd know. Carries enough firepower to wipe out an entire platoon. Luckily he's on our side." Alenko interjected. 

"Sorry. Like I said, no Turians." Ashley said. 

"Let's go, move out." Shepard said in her command voice now that she's got all the Intel she could from Ashley. Alenko and Williams took their positions behind Shepard and the three headed towards the dig site. After a few minutes, the trio started to approach a trench. 

"The beacon's at the far end of this trench." Ashley said softly. 

As they got closer to the dig site which had some sort of old circular stonework floor and pillars, Neira saw a Geth around the perimeter. She gauged that it was just out of pistol range and way out of shotgun range. So she reeled her right arm back, and thrust it forward releasing three blue biotic blasts. The first took down its shields, the second and third took out the synthetic. 

Two more Geth emerged from the dig site firing on Alenko and Williams. "Lt, draw their fire." Ashley yelled. 

Alenko did a combat roll away from Ashley, and let loose multiple shots at both synthetics. Ashley steadied her sniper on the boulder in front of her, took a deep breath and fired a shot at bot Geth destroying them. 

"Nice shooting Chief." Alenko complemented. 

Once the Geth were taken care of. The three man team advance into the center of the circular formation. "This is the dig site. The beacon was right here. They must've moved it." Ashley commented. 

"By who? Our side? Or the Geth?" Alenko asked. 

"Hard to say. Maybe we'll know more after we check out the research camp." Ashley answered. 

"Any survivors? You think anyone got out of here alive?" Shepard asked. 

"If they were lucky. Maybe hiding up in the camp. Its just on top of this ridge. Up the ramps." Ashley replied. 

Just as they were about to leave the dig site Nihlus chimed in. "Change of plans, Shepard. There's a small spaceport up ahead. I want to check it out. I'll wait for you there." 

Neira just gave a slight nod in response to Nihlus, then the threesome headed up the ramps to the research camp. "Looks like they hit the camp hard." Ashley stated as they got to the top of the ridge. 

"It's a good place for an ambush, keep your guard up." Alenko said. 

They saw some giant spikes with impaled humans… or what once were humans now gray with blue glowing electronics. The spikes began to lower, and the things started to move their limbs. "Oh god! they're still alive!" Alenko yelled out in shock. 

"What did the Geth do to them?" Ashley asked no one in general in just as much shock as Alenko. 

As the spikes lowered, the creatures got up and started to attack. Shepard, Alenko, and Ashley took them down with ease. They advanced up to a sealed trailer. As they approached it, Ashley noticed the door. "That door's closed. Security lock engaged." 

"Leave it for now." Shepard ordered and they started down the path to the spaceport. 

* * *

**Spaceport**

Nihlus moved to the spaceport, saw movement and quickly took cover pulling his assault rifle in close. He then spun out of cover rifle at the ready. His mandibles flared then dropped his guard. "Saren?" Nihlus said in shock seeing another Turian Specter on site. 

Saren turned around slowly and looked at who called his name. "Nihlus." Saren said in a cold and stoic voice. 

"This isn't your mission, Saren. What are you doing here?" Nihlus asked confused. 

Saren walked up to Nihlus and put his hand on Nihlus' shoulder. "The council thought you could use some help on this one." Saren answered removing his hand from Nihlus' shoulder and walked past him. 

Nihlus turned from Saren. "I wasn't expecting to find the Geth here. The situation's bad." Nihlus stated. 

The two Turians had their backs to each other. "Don't worry." Saren said turning to Nihlus. "I've got it under control." Those were the last words Nihlus would here as Saren pulled a pistol and shot Nihlus in the head." 

* * *

**Path to the spaceport.**

Shepard's team continued up the path and stopped briefly when they heard a gunshot, then continued cautiously. The path opened up to a bridge and there they saw something off in the far distance through the haze of fire and smoke. "What is that? Off in the distance." Alenko asked. 

The thing began to rise up into the air with reddish electricity arcing off of it. "It's a ship. Look at the size of it." Ashley responded in surprise. 

A shot brought them to their senses as they saw several Geth and Husks down at the space port. The Geth began firing, while the Husks ran to try and over whelm the Marine trio. After several minutes of fighting, the Geth and the Husks were dead. 

There was another locked compartment. This time Shepard wasn't going to ignore it. Shepard went up to the lock and over rid the lock opening the door. 

"Everybody stay calm out there. We're coming out. We're not armed." A male voice called out from inside. Shepard's team took a couple steps back and lowered there weapons. 

Two guys and a girl walked out. Is it safe? Are they gone? The woman asked. 

"Stop right there! Nobody moves a muscle until we know who you are!" Neira coldly ordered. 

"Nice going Cole, I told you we should've stayed hidden." Said the guy on the left to the guy in the middle. 

"It's ok. We're all on the same side here. We're just farmers. We've been hiding ever since that ship first showed up." Cole said. 

"Tell me everything you remember about the attack." Shepard asked. 

"Thee three of us were working the crops when that ship showed up. We just saw it and ran. I don't know what happened to the rest of the crew." Cole replied. 

"They were by the garage. Over near the spaceport. Right where that ship came down. No way they survived." The other man said. 

"You don't know that! We survived. If they made it to the garage, they could've had a fighting chance." the woman yelled at the other guy. 

"Do you know anything about the Prothean beacon they dug up?" Asked Shepard. 

"We're just farmers. We heard they found something out there, but it never really mattered to us. Not until now." Cole answered. 

"What else can you tell us about the ship you saw?" Asked Shepard. 

I was too busy running to get a clear look at it. I think it landed over near the spaceport." Cole answered. 

"Tell them about the noise Cole, that awful noise." The woman said to Cole. 

"It was emitting some sort of signal as it descended. Sounded like the shriek of the damned. Only it was coming from the inside of your own head." Cole recalled. 

"Was it a jamming signal? It was probably trying to block communications." Shepard asked. 

"Whatever it was, it felt like it was tearing right through my skull. Almost made it impossible to think." Cole said. 

"Thanks, but I have to go." Shepard said appreciatively. 

"Hey, Cole. We're just a bunch of farmers. These guys are soldiers. Maybe we should give them the stuff." The other male farmer said to Cole. 

"Geez, Blake. You gotta learn when to shut up!" Cole snapped at Blake. 

Neira's eyes flared red. "I don't like being lied to. If there's something you're not telling me..." Neira hissed. 

The three farmers took a step back at seeing Neira's eyes flash red. "Uhhh… Some of the guys at the spaceport were running a small smuggling ring. Nothing major. In exchange for a cut of the profits, we let them store packages in our sheds." Cole admitted. 

"That's why you ran here. You greedy bastard! You weren't running for your life! You were running to check on your merchandise." Neira hissed again, this time more angrily. 

"No! It's not like that. I just… I just knew there were some packages here. Something we could use. I found a pistol. Figured it would come in handy if those things came back. But you'll probably get more use out of it then we will." Cole explained nervously. 

Neira caught on how nervous he was, and in a blink of in eye she was upon him with her fist wrapped up in his shirt. "You're holding out on me! I'm going to ask this just once Cole. Think long and hard before you lie to me again. Are you sure all you've got is one lousy pistol?" Neira asked pulling Cole in closer to her. 

"Uh oh… you best come clean Cole, you're pissing off the woman dubbed _The Butcher of Torfan..._ " Ashley added. 

Cole's eyes went wide when Neira grabbed him, but when Ashley spoke, all three farmers went pale as the blood drained from their faces. Even out here they heard of the Butcher of Torfan. 

"Uh… oh, wait, I just remembered. I just had it in my pocket. Might as well take that, too. That's everything. Really." Cole said with noticeable fear in his voice as he put a combat sensor in Neira's hand. 

Who's your contact down at the spaceport, Cole? What's his name?" Ashley asked. 

"He's not a bad guy. I don't want to get him in trouble. Besides I'm not a snitch." Cole answered. 

With her lightning fast quick draw, Neira had one of her pistols in Cole's face. "Is he worth dying for? Would you rather be a snitch or a corpse?" Neira asked a a cold, low voice. 

Cole put his hands up cowering. "Powell! His name's Powell!" Cole blurted out in terror. 

Neira turned to look at Ashley. "Think he's telling us the truth?" She asked. 

"Well, it's not raining, but the ground is awfully wet at his feet." Ash chuckled. 

Kaiden shook his head. "Damn, I heard rumors of how ruthless you were Shepard, but damn..." 

"If you're serving with me, Alenko. You had better get used to the way I run things..." Neira exclaimed. 

Ash just chuckled turning her attention back to Cole shaking her head. "No honor among thieves." She snidely commented. 

"That's all I know. Really. So let's try and keep things friendly from here on in, ok?" Cole asked as Neira did a reverse twirl of her pistol before holstering it. 

"I have to go… don't give me a reason to come back here." Neira said coldly. 

"Don't worry, you want." Cole stated. "And Good Luck." 

The threesome left and headed down the path to the spaceport. As they were ascending the ramp, they spotted a corpse. "Commander, it's Nihlus." Alenko stated solemnly. 

Ashley and Alenko quickly drew their pistols aiming at some crates. "Something's moving! Over by those crates!" Ashley yelled out. 

"Wait! Don't shoot! I'm one of you. I'm Human!" A guy yelled out with his hands up. 

"You're a coward! I like the way you hid behind those crates during the fight. Really helped us out. Thanks a lot." Neira said sarcastically with both pistols trained on the guy. Finally lowering her pistols. 

"Me? But… but I', just a dockworker. I don't even have a weapon!" The guy answered defensively. "My name's Powell. I saw what happened to that Turian. The other one shot him." 

"Other one? What the hell are you talking about?" Neira snapped. 

"There were two Turians here. Your friend and another one he called _Saren_. I think they knew each other. Your friend seemed to relax. He let his guard down… and Saren killed him. Shot him right in the back. I'm just lucky he didn't see me behind the crates.? Powell explained. 

"Then what? Where'd Saren go after he killed Nihlus?" Neira asked. 

Powell pointed to the cargo tram station. He jumped on the cargo train and headed for the other platform. Probably going after the beacon. I knew that beacon was trouble. Everything's gone to hell ever since we found it. First that mothership arrived, then the attack. They killed everyone. Everyone! If I hadn't been behind the crates, I'd be dead, too." Powell answered. 

Neira squinted her eyes as something just clicked with her. "You're Cole's contact here on the docks. For the smuggling ring." Neira said questioningly. 

"What? No! I mean what does it matter now? So I'm a smuggler? Who cares? My supervisor's dead. The entire crew's dead. It doesn't matter now, does it?" Powell began defensively, then was more disparate. 

"Ever smuggle any weapons, anything hidden nearby that we could use against the Geth?" Neira asked flatly. 

"A shipment of grenades came through last week. Nobody notices if a few small pieces go missing from the Military orders." Powell said uncaring. 

Ashley stared daggers at Powell as she thrust her finger at him in fury. "You greedy son of a bitch! We're out here trying to protect your sorry ass and all you can think of is how to rip us off?!" She yelled with venom in her voice. 

Powell took a step back with his arms raised. "I never thought you'd actually need those grenades! Who'd want to attack Eden Prime? We're just a bunch of farmers! How was I supposed to know?" Powell said trying to defend his actions. 

"You're pathetic! Hand over those grenades now!" Neira ordered in a a very threatening voice. Looking at the Commander's face told him that he was talking to death itself if he wasn't careful. 

"They're yours. Take them. My smuggling days are over. I swear." 

Neira narrowed her eyes and they flashed red yet again and faster than the eye could see, she had a pistol in Powell's face. "You're lying! Too many people died here for you to start Jerking me around!" Neira hissed. 

Powell took a step back with his hands raised with fear painted on his face. Okay! All right. There was something else. Could be worth a fortune. Experimental technology. Top of the line. Take it. I don't need it. I didn't want anyone to get hurt. Really. I'm sorry." Powell said fearful of the Commander. 

Neira reholstered her pistol. "We need to find that beacon before it's to late." Neira exclaimed urgently. 

"Take the cargo train. That's where the other Turian went. I… I can't stay here. I need to get away from all this." Powell said with a wave as he walked off. 

Neira looked at what she was handed, and realized that it altered a grenade's property to High Explosive and a grin crept across her face. "Alright Ash, Alenko… let's move out and get that beacon, but keep alert in case there's still Geth or those Husk-things still around." She ordered. 

As they rounded the corner, a Geth Trooper was right there and opened fire. The first shot was deflected by Neira's shields. Her body was enveloped in a blue biotic sheathe and charged the Geth knocking it down and pinned it under her. She pulled a pistol putting the barrel at it's light face and fired several shots. The Geth convulsed then stopped moving. 

Neira looked at her pistol's combat sensor. "Look alive, we have more company up ahead." At that Neira got off the Geth, and all three took combat stances as they cautiously approached the cargo train. 

As both Shepard and Alenko were causing biotic havoc with the Geth, Ashley positioned herself and expertly sniped each disrupted Geth. The threesome worked in perfect unison as if they were a veteran three-man squad. With Shepard using Stasis and Alenko using lift, they made Ashley's job a piece of cake. They than advanced to the cargo train and headed up. 

* * *

At the far end of the spaceport, Saren advanced on one of the Geth and stood in front of it. "Set the charges, destroy the colony. Leave no evidence that we were here." He commanded the Geth Trooper. 

Saren then left the Geth and walked over to the beacon and stared up at it. The beacon then started to emit a green glow. Shortly after that, the beacon caused Saren to levitate as it began to send whatever knowledge it had directly into Saren's mind.

* * *

The three Marines finally arrived at the far end of the spaceport. "Demolition charges! The Geth must've set them." Kaiden spotted the explosive immediately and warned everyone. 

"Hurry- we need to find them all, and shut them down." Ashley add in urgency. 

Shepard immediately charged up to the explosive and calling upon her N7 training began to dismantle the charge. "A month's pay says that they mean to destroy the colony to cover their tracks." 

"I think you're right on that Red, so I'm not gonna bet against you..." Ashley chuckled. 

After disarming the first charge. The team proceeded up a ramp, only to dive for cover as several Geth opened fire on them. Neira closed her eyes and took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Her body then became enveloped in a blue and red biotic barrier. "You two, stay down while I take a look. It'll take them a while to get through this barrier..." Neira half heartedly chuckled. 

Three Geth opened fire on her. Neira grinned as the three were close together. She thrusted her right arm forward rotating her palm upward, curling her fingers as if she was holding something the size of a grapefruit. Then a swirling mass of biotic energy appeared above the Geth trying to pull them in. They dropped their guns as they flailed their arms and legs to get free. 

"Ash, quickly. I can't hold this singularity long yet." Neira called out." 

Ashley quickly got to her feet and zeroed in on each Geth one by one she fired a single round. In a matter of seconds, the synthetics laid on the ground motionless except for a few sparks and some smoke rising from their corpses. 

"Nice shooting Chief..." Alenko complimented Ashley amazed at how accurate and quick she dispatched the synthetics. 

Ashley pulled her sniper in and compacted it. She then blew the smoke from the nozzle. "Alliance _Deadeye_ four years in a row at the annual Alliance Games… not even the N7 snipers stood a chance." She proudly said with a smile. 

They quickly ran up and disarmed the charge. More Geth began firing on them. Ashley grinned and jumped top her feet, extending the barrel of her sniper. With speed and grace, she took down the five Geth even through their hard shield placements. The Alliance top sniper shined brightly as even in a standing position with the Geth mostly constantly moving they fell prey to her sharp eye and pinpoint accuracy. 

Alenko whistled as the last Geth fell while Shepard disarmed the last charge. Shepard sauntered over to Ashley and smiled at her. "Now you see why I wanted to get her back on my team Kaiden?" Neira asked. 

"Aye, ma'am." Alenko asked stunned. Neira then grabbed Ashley and pulled her in. "Missed you Ash. Nothing against you Kaiden, but I grew up with this girl, went through hell and back with her, then the brass for some reason decided to separate us." Neira then did something Ashley never suspected. Neira kissed her, not deeply, but a hard aggressive close-mouthed kiss." Sorry Ash, got carried away there..." Neira chuckled with all three Marines starting to blush. 

Ashley was stunned by the kiss, but finally came to her wits. "The beacon..." Ashley exclaimed. 

Neira's face became serious after Ashley mentioned the beacon, than the Marines raced to to a walkway leading down to a lower level where they could see the awaiting beacon. 

As the threesome approached the ramp going down, several more Geth and Husks appeared. Neira, Ashley, and Alenko took defensive positions. Neira put up a singularity to catch the rushing husks for Ashley to take down, while Alenko used stasis and lift on the Geth. Within a few minutes, all hostiles were eliminated. 

The three walked down the ramp and approached the beacon. Neira hit her comm to contact the ship. "Normandy, the beacon is secure. Request immediate evac. 

While Shepard was talking to the ship, both Kaiden and Ashley walked up a little closer. A beam of light was shooting skyward and the green glow was still surrounding the frame. 

"This is amazing. Actual working Prothean technology. Unbelievable!" Kaiden exclaimed, as he walked off behind Ashley towards Shepard. 

"It wasn't doing anything like that when they dug it up. Something must've activated it." Ashley commented as she walked a little closer out of curiosity. 

"Roger Normandy, standing by." Shepard said signing off with the ship. She than walked over to Alenko who was approaching her. 

With her curiosity, as Ashley got closer, some sort of force grabbed hold of her and started pulling her closer to the beacon. Seeing this just over Alenko's shoulder. Neira ran over to Ashley jumping to her and grabbed her from behind and threw her to safety. However shew was still where Ashley was, and the field now had hold of her lifting her in the air with her arms out to the sides. 

Alenko ran to Ashley and helped her up. Seeing Neira get lifted up, Ashley yelled out. "RED!" 

While hovering by the strange force, Neira's mind was flooded with all sorts of weird images. Ashley tried to get to her feet reaching out to her friend. "No! Don't touch her! It's too dangerous!" Alenko yelled at Ashley holding her back. 

The beacon then exploded throwing Neira. Seeing that, She powered out of Alenko's grip and rushed to her friend's side. She lost one _sister_ outside of her real sisters, and she wouldn't know what she'd do if she lost Neira too. 

Alenko walked over and just stood over the girls, then hit his comm. "Normandy, this is Alenko. We have a situation, get the medical team ready ASAP, Shepard's down. I repeat Shepard's down… and the beacon exploded."

 **A/N: please rate and review**

 **Astartes: don't worry, Garus is my homeboy**

 **Keep the reviews coming, I love reviews it tells me what people like and don't like. depending on the dislikes I can either reduce or cut them out, but some might be integral. I also _try_ to insert reviewer requests of stuff to happen, but no promises.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: I don't own Mass Effect, it's the intellectual property of EA/Bioware**

 **CHAPTER 5**

An Asari Matriarch approached Saren, her outfit fitting snug around her curves leaving her ample cleavage open. "We identified the ship that touched down on Eden Prime. The Normandy. A Human Alliance vessel. It was under the command of Captain Anderson. They managed to save the colony," She reported. 

"And the beacon?" Saren inquired. 

"One of the Humans _may_ have used it." 

Hearing this Saren went from a brooding recline to sitting on the edge of his seat agitated. "Argh! Rarh! Argh!" Saren growled. Slamming things about. The Matriarch just shifted her head to the side avoiding flying debris. 

Saren stormed up to the Matriarch grabbing her by the back of her head and her chin. The Matriarch just stood there stoically showing no emotion. 

Saren calmed himself and let her go. "This Human must be eliminated," Saren said in his normal low and cold voice then stormed off. 

"Dr. Chakwas! Dr. Chakwas! She's waking up!" Ashley cried out as Commander Neira Shepard began to stir on the Normandy's Med bay's bed. 

Dr. Chakwas began walking over to Shepard who sat up holding her head, then turned to see the doctor. "You had us worried there, Shepard. How are you feeling?" The good Doctor asked. 

Shepard put her hand to her face and shook her head slightly. "Not great. "Ngh… Like the morning after shore leave. How long was I out?" Neira asked. 

"About fifteen hours. Something happened down there with the beacon, I think," Chakwas explained. 

"It's my fault. I must've triggered some kind of security field when I approached it. You had to push me out of the way," Ash stated apologetically. 

"Don't blame yourself Ash. You had no way to know what would happen," Neira responded softly to Ashley which caused Ashley to smile slightly. 

"Actually, we don't even know if that's what actually set it off. Unfortunately, we'll never get the chance to find out," Chakwas explained. 

"The beacon exploded. A system overload, maybe. The blast knocked you cold. The LT and I had to carry you back to the ship," Ashley explained walking over and putting a hand on Neira's shoulder. 

Neira turned her head and smiled seeing Ash's hand on her shoulder. "Thanks. I appreciate it." 

Ashley smiled at her long time friend. "Of course, I know you'd do the same for me." 

"Physically you're fine. But I detected some unusual brain activity, abnormal beta waves. I also noticed an increase in your rapid eye movement, signs associated with intense dreaming," The Doctor stated observantly. 

"Not a dream, more like a nightmare. I saw- I'm not sure what I saw. Death. Destruction. Nothing's really clear," Neira explained unusually solemnly. 

"Hmmm- I better add this to my report. It may- Oh, Captain Anderson," Chakwas began then acknowledged the Captain when he walked in. 

Ashley who was leaning against the now empty bed instantly stood straight at the Captain's arrival. "As you were Williams," Anderson smiled at Ashley then turned to the Doctor. How's our XO holding up, Doctor?" He asked. 

"All the readings look normal. I'd say the Commander's going to be fine," Chakwas answered. 

"Glad to hear it. Shepard, I need to speak with you– in private." 

Ashley saluted Anderson. "Aye, aye, Captain. I'll be in the mess if you need me." She then turned to Neira and squeezed her shoulder gently with a comforting smile. 

Neira gently tapped Ash's hand with a smile. Then Ashley and Chakwas walked out to leave the Captain and Shepard alone. 

"Sounds like that beacon hit you pretty hard, Commander. You sure you're okay?" 

"I'm pissed off about the Geth. With all due respect, Sir. Intel dropped the ball. We had no idea what we were walking into down there. That's why things went to hell," Neira replied bitterly. 

"The Geth haven't been outside the veil in two centuries, Commander. Nobody could've predicted this," Anderson calmly stated. 

"I appreciate you keeping Ash on board, Captain. It really means a lot to me." 

"Of course, she's a good soldier and needs a good break. Besides, I'm well aware that she's the only one that can keep you under control," the two chuckled slightly with Neira blushing a bit. 

Neira's face then went stone cold serious with a small hint of anger and remorse. "Was Jenkins' and Nihlus' bodies recovered, Sir?" 

"Aye, they were recovered. Don't beat yourself up over it. What happened to Jenkins down there wasn't your fault. You did a good job, Shepard," Anderson said trying to ease Shepard. 

Neira nodded. "Anyways, you said you needed to talk to me in private, Captain?" 

Anderson put his hands behind his back and looked at his XO. Neira could tell the Captain wasn't going to like what he has to say. "I won't lie to you, Shepard. Things look bad. Nihlus is dead. The beacon was destroyed, and the Geth are invading. The Council's going to want answers," Anderson said with a heavy voice as he began to pace. 

"Screw them!" Neira snarled stepping forward and leaning in with anger seething in her face. "The Council can kiss my pale white ass! I won't let them blame me for losing the beacon. I didn't do anything wrong!" Neira fumed about having to talk to the Council over this. 

Anderson started to pace again. "I'll stand behind you and your report, Shepard. You're a damned hero in my books. That's not why I'm here. It's Saren, that other Turian. Saren's a Spectere, one of the best. Like yourself, he's a living legend. But if he's working with the Geth, it means he went rogue. A rogue Spectere's trouble. Saren's Dangerous. And what's more, is that he hates Humans," Anderson explained. 

"Hates Humans? Why?" 

"He thinks we're growing to fast, taking over the galaxy. A lot of aliens think that way. Most of them don't do anything about it. But Saren allied himself with the Geth. I don't know how. I don't know why. I only know it had something to do with that beacon. You were there just before the beacon self-destructed. Did you see anything? Any clue as to what Saren was after?" Anderson explained, before asking about the beacon. 

Neira took a step back and her face softened slightly. "A vision… Just before I lost consciousness, I had some kind of vision." 

The Captain raised a brow as he started to pace once again. "A vision? A Vision of what?" He asked. 

"I don't know, Our death maybe? I saw synthetics. Geth, maybe. Slaughtering people. Butchering them. It was more than a vision it was like I was right there. I could hear the sounds of the battle, the screams. I could smell the acrid smoke. Plasma, and blood." She answered in a softer voice with her arms crossed as she leaned against the medical bed. "I'm telling you sir, it was like I was right there. If I was to take a wild guess, I would have to say it was like some sort of warning or a documentation of the battle, but more… it's like it was able to transport you there, but you couldn't interact or be interacted… like everyone was completely oblivious to you" Neira replied. 

"We need to report this to the Council, Shepard," Anderson stated firmly. 

"Forget it. They'll think I'm crazy!" Neira snapped back. 

"We don't know what information was stored in that beacon. Lost Prothean technology? Blueprints for some ancient weapon of mass destruction? Whatever it was, Saren took it. But I know Saren, I know his reputation, his politics. He believes Humans are a blight on the galaxy. This attack, was an act of war! He has the secrets from the beacon. He has an army of Geth at his command. And he won't stop until he's wiped Humanity from the face of the galaxy," Anderson explained to Shepard trying to reason with her as to why they need to bring this to the Council. 

"Not if I can stop him! I'll find someway to take him down," Neira responded sharply. 

Anderson sighed knowing very well the kind of things going on in his XO's mind, and is very thankful he's thought to keep Ashley on board. He walked over to the comm and sighed. "Williams, can you come in here please." Anderson ordered softly. 

Shortly the door opened, but before she could ask what the Captain wanted. She took one look at Neira and understood. She nodded to the Captain and walked over to Neira standing in front of her. 

Neira was starting to develop her red corona, but right now it was still blue with tinges of a red glow. Ashley gently placed her hands on her friend's shoulders and looked softly in her eyes. "Look at me Red- Don't pay attention to anything but me and the sound of my voice," Ashley said softly. 

Neira didn't even notice, the Captain order Ashley in, or the fact that she had entered. It wasn't until she heard Ashley's voice that it registered with her. Neira closed her eyes, and wrapped her arms around Ashley in a hug. The look Neira gave Captain Anderson told him that he could continue. 

Anderson cleared his throat and nodded. "As I was saying. It's not that easy. He's a Spectre. He can go anywhere, do almost anything. That's why we need the council on our side," Anderson explained. 

Neira narrowed her eyes at the explanation. "They can't help us! When have they _**ever**_ done anything for Humanity?" Neira argued. She finally broke the hug with Ashley. 

Ashley stepped back and smiled at her friend. "Thanks Ash, I'd probably get consumed by my anger if I didn't have your help." 

"No probably about it, Shepard, you have been lost to your rage many times since the two of you have been separated," Anderson corrected with a chuckle causing the two girls to chuckle along with him. 

"Captain. Want me to stay or leave?" Ashley asked. 

Anderson rubbed his chin. "Against my better judgment, I want you to stay just in case." 

Ashley nodded and leaned against the medical bed next to Neira who had a hand resting on the bed on either side of her. Ashley did the same. Her right pinky overlapped Neira's. Neither looked at each other, but they hooked their pinkies together. 

"If we expose Saren as a traitor, the Council will revoke his Spectre status," Anderson stated pounding his fist into his palm. "I'll contact the Ambassador and see if he can get us an audience with the Council. He'll want to see us as soon as we reach the Citadel. We should be close. Head up to the bridge and tell Joker to bring us in to dock," Anderson said and walked off. 

Neira turned and looked at Ashley with a smile and nodded. The two girls then headed to the bridge. 

As they were leaving the med bay, they saw Alenko standing by the mess. 

"Commander, I'm glad to see you're okay. Losing Jenkins was hard on the crew. And I'm glad we didn't lose you too," The Lieutenant commented. 

"How are you holding up? Things were pretty rough down there." Neira asked. 

"Yeah, you never get used to seeing dead civilians. Doesn't seem right, somehow. But at least you stopped Saren from wiping out the whole colony." Alenko replied solemnly. 

"The mission was a failure. Dead Marines. Dead Colonists. And in the end, we still didn't get the beacon," Neira sighed with frustration evident in her voice. 

"Maybe you're right. Things went bad. Real bad. I still can't believe we lost Jenkins," Alenko stated. 

"Soldiers die. There's nothing either of us could've done to save him," Shepard said shaking her head, but trying to ease the Lieutenant's mind. 

"I know that, Shepard. But I don't have to like it. It's been a hell of a shakedown cruise. Our first mission ends with one Spectre killing another. The Citadel Council's not going to be happy about that. Probably use it to lever more concessions out of the Alliance," Alenko pointed with equal frustration in his voice. 

"Seems like you've been around. You've got a good grasp of the situation. You a career man?" Neira asked praising Alenko on his assessment of the situation. 

Alenko nodded. "Yeah, as you know. A lot of us Biotics are. We're not restricted, but we sure don't go undocumented. May as well get a paycheck for it. Besides, my father served. Made him proud when I enlisted. Eventually. But is that why you're here? Because of your family?" 

Neira chuckled. "Hell no, I'm in it for the action and the adventure." Hearing that Ashley couldn't help but laugh. 

"Ain't that the truth. LT, if there was something to gain a thrill or get her adrenaline pumping, Red was all over it." Neira turned and looked at Ashley slightly flushed then the three laughed. 

"More or less as Ash said, you couldn't keep me out if you tried. Best way to explore the galaxy is right behind a big cannon," Shepard chuckled. 

"I heard about both Elysium and Torfan. I bet you had your pick of posts after that. Word is we're headed for the Citadel, ma'am. Can you tell me why?" Kaiden asked. 

"We want to brief the Council. The Captain hopes that the Ambassador can get us an audience with the Council. Tell them what Saren's been up to," Neira explained. 

"Makes sense. They'd probably like to know that he's not working for them anymore. Whatever happens, we'll be ready. Commander," Alenko stated. 

Shepard and Williams left Alenko and headed to the bridge together. Shepard stepped behind Joker and gently rested a hand on the back of his chair. "Good timing, Commander. I was just about to bring us into the Citadel. See that taxpayer money at work." Joker said with his usual sarcasm. Neira and Ashley chuckled and stood at rest as Joker flew to the Citadel Mass Relay. 

Ashley's eyes went wide when she saw the Ascension. "Look at the size of that ship." 

"The Ascension. Flagship of the Citadel fleet," Kaiden said as he walked onto the bridge. 

"Well, size isn't everything," Joker said blowing off the Ascension. 

"Why so touchy, Joker?" Ashley asked in a slight mock and sarcastic manner. 

"I'm just saying, you need firepower too." He responded nonchalantly. 

"Look at that Monster! Its main gun could rip through the barriers of any ship in the Alliance fleet," Ashley rebutted turning to look at Joker in disbelief of his previous comment. 

"Good thing its on our side, then," Kaiden added. 

"Citadel Control, this is the SSV Normandy requesting permission to land," Joker radioed to the Citadel. 

"Standby for Clarence, Normandy." Control responded. "Clearance granted. You may begin your approach. Transferring you to an Alliance operator." 

"Roger, Citadel tower, Normandy out," Joker replied. 

"Normandy, this is Alliance Tower. Please proceed to dock 422." 

"Roger that, Alliance tower. SSV Normandy approaching dock 422, docking procedures now in place," Joker replied. 

The Normandy came in, and the locking clamps and the gangway closed in on the Normandy securing her in her berth. 

**Please Rate and Review**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: So for the long delay in updates, but a lot of things have been happening with me, but finally got this chapter out. I can't make promises or predictions on the next chapter, just know that it is not being canceled… I plan on taking it all the way through Mass Effect 3.**

 **Chapter 6**

"Alenko, Williams. Join the Commander and myself on the Citadel in case the Ambassador has any additional questions for the two of you," Anderson called out over the comm. 

**Ambassador Udina's Office**

"This is an outrage! The Council would step in if the Geth attacked a Turian colony!" Ambassador Donel Udina yelled out in frustration to the holo representation of the Citadel Council.

"The Turians don't found colonies on the borders of the Terminus Systems, Ambassador," Councilor Valern – the Salerian Councilor rebutted.

"Humanity was well aware of the risks when when you went into the Traverse," Councilor Tevos – the Asari Councilor calmly stated.

"What about Saren? You can't just ignore a rogue Spectre. I demand action!" Udina cried out feeling as if the council just doesn't care about Humanity.

"You don't get to make demands of the Council, Ambassador," Councilor Sparatus stated flatly.

"Citadel Security is investigating your charges against Saren. We will discuss the C-Sec findings at the hearing, not before," Tevos informed Udina, then the holo link with the council cut out.

Udina lowered his head and shook it slightly turning around. "Captain Anderson, I see you brought half your crew with you." Udina said sardonically.

"Just the ground crew from Eden Prime. In case you had any questions," Anderson replied.

"I have the mission reports. I assume they are accurate," Udina asked crossing his arms over his chest with narrowed eyes.

"They are. Sounds like you convinced the Council to give us an audience," Anderson said motioning to the holoviewer.

"They were not happy about it. Saren's their top agent. They don't like him being accused of treason," Udina replied flatly not liking it.

Shepard was standing by Captain Anderson at parade rest just listening to the exchange. She relaxed and looked sternly at Udina. "He's dangerous. Saren's a threat to every Human colony out there. He needs to be stopped. The Council has to listen to us!" Shepard said sharply.

"Settle down, Commander. You've already done more than enough to jeopardize your candidacy for the Specters. The mission on Eden Prime was a chance to prove you could get the job done. Instead, Nihlus ended up dead and the beacon was destroyed!" Udina stated accusingly at Shepard.

"That's Saren's fault, not hers!" Captain Anderson interrupted in Shepard's defense.

Shepard leaned in and pointed at Udina. "Get the Job done!" She yelled out pointing menacingly at the Ambassador. "My record stands as a testament of me being able to get the job done! Remember Elysium?! Remember Torfan!" Neira yelled at Udina.

Ashley ran to Neira standing in front of her. "Calm down _Red_ , blowing up at the Ambassador won't help matters here." Ashley said in a soothing voice.

"You sure you want to bring up Torfan, Commander? You got two-thirds of your unit killed including your own sister-" Udina then shifted his look to Anderson. "Then we had better hope C-Sec turns up evidence to support our accusations. Otherwise the council might use this as an excuse to keep you out of the Specters." Udina said shifting his gaze back to Shepard.

"Why you..." Neira snarled before Ashley firmly put her hands on Neira's shoulders. Neira glared at Ashley, then took a deep breath and let it out. She then pointed at Udina. "First of all, go back and read the mission reports! It stated, and I quote _ELIMINATE any and all hostiles with EXTREME prejudice at_ _ **ALL**_ _costs!_ Yes my sister paid the ultimate price as did the majority of my unit, but **I** got the job done as ordered. Secondly, I was **NEVER** approached or asked about the Specters… I do **NOT** appreciate, like, or approve of anyone choosing my future for **me!** I would probably accept anyways, but it would've been nice to be told about Specter candidacy before hand," Neira yelled tearing into Udina.

Udina took a step back from the infuriated Commander and swallowed. "Yes, well the cost of that mission was to steep, but I suppose you're correct that _we_ should've discussed it with you ahead of time," Udina admitted. He then shifted focus back to Captain Anderson. "Come with me, Captain. I want to go over a few things before the hearing. Shepard – you and the others can meet us at the Citadel Tower. Top level. I'll make sure you have clearance to get in," Udina said, then he and Anderson walked out.

Ashley shook her head in disbelief at the Ambassador. "And that's why I hate politicians."

"You and me both, Chief," Alenko seconded Ashley.

"Come on you two, let's take a look around before heading to the tower. I need to calm down before facing the Councilors," Neira stated trying to reel in her anger.

Kaiden nodded, while Ashley looked over the balcony. "They've built themselves quite the lake. Wonder if anyone drowned in it."

That caused a slight chuckle from Neira who put a hand on her childhood friend's shoulder. "Come on, let's get out of here."

The trio left Udina's office and soon found themselves at the C-Sec Executor's office. Executor Pallin looked up from his desk hearing his door open. "Commander Shepard. I didn't expect to see you here. Did Ambassador Udina send you?" He asked.

"No. I came on my own. I need information," Neira replied.

"You humans are always so curious. Always sticking your fingers into someone else's pie. Is that the right expression? Uh, never mind. Forget I asked." He then sat back in his chair. "Is there something you needed, Commander?" Pallin asked.

"I get the feeling you're not to fond of Humans," Neira asked neutrally.

"No, I just don't trust your kind… not yet anyways. You Humans are eager to take all the power you can get. And you're being given a lot. If the Council wants to make Humanity their new favorite pet, that's their business. But I don't have to like it," Pallin stated.

"We're not Favorites! The Council treats us like second-class citizens. We have to fight for everything we get," Neira tried to explain.

"Good. Then fight for it. But don't expect the rest of us to just sit back and let you take it. I'm a busy man, Commander. Are we done here?" He asked.

"What do you know about the Specters?" Neira asked inquisitively.

"They're the right hand of the Council, or so they like to be called. More like the underhanded side of the Council if you ask me." He replied with disdain.

"I take it you don't like them. What do you have against the Specters?" Neira asked probing.

"I can't abide any organization that considers themselves above the law. Especially when it's left up to each and every individual Specter to decide when and how to _bend the rules,_ " Pallin explained.

Neira scoffed slightly. "That's a bit naive. Sometimes you have to bend the law to keep people safe," Neira stated.

Commander, I've been with C-Sec for thirty years. I've never had to break the law to do my job. Not once." He retorted.

"Yeah, right. You expect us to believe none of your officers are corrupt?" Ashley added in disbelief thinking that he meant all of C-Sec and not just himself.

Neira glanced at Ashley, then refocused her attention to Pallin. "I send bend, not break- I will admit, I've bent a few regs over the years, but I draw the line at **breaking…** yes, I know it's a grey area, but it's still with in the boundaries of the law," Neira rebutted.

"You maybe right, but you walk in the grey to long, and your bound to step over that line."

Pallin turned and looked at Chief Williams. There are over two hundred thousand C-Sec agents. Some of them are going to be bad. But we don't turn a blind eye to corruption like the Specters do. We do our best to find and punish any officer who breaks the law. Specters- they'll never come under that kind of scrutiny," Pallin passionately explained.

"Specters are important. The galaxy needs people like that, people who do the dirty jobs," Shepard stated a bit more firmly this time.

Pallin looked at Shepard, his mandibles flared once. "Don't get me wrong, Commander. I agree, but they need to be held to a higher standard. They need to be held accountable. Saren's out of control. We both know that. But, because he's a Spectre, the Council doesn't want to do anything about it. Is that the kind of person the Galaxy needs?" Pallin asked.

"If it gets the job done. Absolutely. The only thing that matters is accomplishing the task," Neira responded firmly strongly believing in what she said.

"I've heard that about you, Commander. But, I just don't know. I've never had to cross that line to get the job done, never," Pallin stated keeping firm to his own convictions.

Shepard and company thanked the Executor and left. The trio then found themselves in a lounge and spotted three Marines chatting. "Don't believe the rumors. The Consort would never reveal her secrets." One Marine said to the others.

The one speaking felt a presence behind him he then spun around. "What do you want?" He asked agitated that he and his buddies were being interrupted. His eyes went wide seeing Shepard and quickly snapped to attention and saluted. "Oh, Commander. Private Fredricks Ma'am. Is there something I can do for you?" He asked nervously.

"Relax, Private, this isn't an inspection. Kaiden said easing the Private.

He lowered his salute. "Right, sorry. What can I do for you, Commander?" Fredricks asked.

"Consort? What can you tell me about the Asari Consort?" Shepard asked not knowing anything about her.

"I, ah, well, she's an Asari who works here as… that is, she helps people with… things." The private nervously sputtered with a tinge of a blush revealing that he doesn't know much about her either.

A big toothy grin came across Kaiden's face. "You never went to see her, did you, Fredricks?" He asked.

"I, uh, no. I never did. I couldn't afford it. It costs just a half a year's credits just to go in and talk to her." The Private explained embarrassed.

"I understand. That's fine, Private. Just tell me where to find her." Shepard said.

Fredricks motioned with his thumb over his shoulder. "Sure, she's across the bridge from the embassies." He directed them.

Ashley smiled warmly. "Thanks, kid. Have fun. Try and not get into too much trouble," Ashley said playfully.

"I will. Have fun, that is." He replied.

As they were leaving, they stopped at the bar knowing that a bartender is always a good source of information. The bartender waved. "Hello, Commander. Can I get you something?" He asked politely.

"Commander?" Neira put her hands down on the bar and leaned forward looking at the bartender skeptically. "You know who I am?"

The bartender picked up a rag and began to wipe the bar top as he looked at Neira and smiled cordially. "Your arrival created a bigger-than-average stir among the diplomats and hangers-on around here. There's always something new happening around here. I could fill you in on some points of interest if you're interested." He explained.

Neira nodded. "Fill me in." Neira turned her head towards the lounge's door. "What's going on around here?" She asked.

"Well, you've found the embassies. Not much going on here. Across the bridge you'll find the bank, the Emporium, and Sha'ira's. If you haven't heard of her, you soon will. If you need supplies, you can try the markets one level below. For entertainment, I'd try Flux or Chora's Den." He explained.

Neira pushed back off the bar lightly. "I should be going. Goodbye, and thanks."

The bartender waved. "So long, Commander and have a pleasant day."

Once out of the lounge, the three headed for the rapid transit. "We should head for the Citadel Tower, I'm sure they're waiting for us by now." Ashley suggested.

"Agreed," Neira responded with a nod.

The three took the rapid transit to the Citadel Tower gaining easy access and headed inside. As they ascended the first flight of stairs, they could see two Turians conversing. Neira recognized one as Executor Pallin.

"Saren's hiding something! Give me more time. Stall them." The other Turian implored of the Executor.

"Stall the Council? Don't be ridiculous! Your investigation is over, Garrus," Pallin said perturbed that one of his officers would even consider stalling the Council, then walked off.

Garrus turned and noticed Shepard, Alenko, and Williams and walked over to them in frustration. "Commander Shepard? Garrus Vakarian. I was the officer in charge of the C-Sec investigation into Saren." He introduced himself with a nod.

"You blew it. Sounds like you came up empty," Neira responded with her eyes narrowed.

"Saren's a Spectre. Most of his activities are classified. I couldn't find anything solid." He turned his head in the direction that Pallin walked off to. "But, I know he's up to something. Like you Humans say, I feel it in my gut," Garrus said frustrated.

"I think the Council's ready for us, Commander," Alenko interrupted. Neira turned and looked at him with a nod.

"Good luck, Shepard. Maybe they'll listen to you," Garrus said wishing Shepard and crew luck with the Council.

The trio walked off heading deeper into the Tower until they finally met back up with Captain Anderson. "The hearing's already started. Come on," Anderson said leading Eden Prime's ground crew up to the Podium.

"The Geth attack is a matter of some concern. But there is nothing to indicate Saren was involved in any way." Councilor Tevos stated in her usual soft and calm voice."

"The investigation by Citadel Security turned up no evidence to support your charge of treason," Councilor Sparatus added."

"An eyewitness saw him kill Nihlus in cold blood!" Udina fiercely argued.

"We've read the Eden Prime reports, Ambassador. The testimony of one traumatized dockworker is hardly compelling proof," Councilor Valern stated brushing off the eyewitness account.

"I resent these accusations. Nihlus was a fellow Spectre. And a friend," Saren said via holo.

"That just let you catch him off guard!" Anderson retorted.

"Captain Anderson. You always seem to be involved when Humanity makes false charges against me. And this must be your protege, Commander Shepard. The one who let the beacon get destroyed," Saren snidely stated, not really surprised to see the Captain there.

Shepard glared up at the holo of Saren. "That was you, not me! You're the one who destroyed the beacon. Then you tried to cover it up," Shepard spat.

"Shift the blame to cover your own failures, just like Captain Anderson. He's trained you well," Saren said sarcastically. Saren's holo turned to look at the Council with crossed arms. But, what can you expect from a Human?"

Neira's eyes flared with the racist comment. "You'll pay!" She leaned forward. "You can expect me to kill you the next time we meet," Neira seethed.

"Your species needs to learn its place, Shepard. You're not ready to join the Council. You're not even ready to join the Specters!" Saren snarled back in disdain.

"He has no right to say that! That's not his decision!" Udina yelled back in anger.

Tevos turned to look up at Saren. Shepard's admission into the Specters is not the purpose of this meeting." She stated with a slightly firmer voice due to Saren's groundless proclamation.

"This meeting has no purpose. The Humans are wasting your time, Councilor. And mine," Saren retorted.

"You arrogant Bastard! You can't hide behind the Council forever!" Shepard yelled with venom in her voice.

Anderson turned and looked over at his XO. "There's still one outstanding issue: Commander Shepard's vision. It may have been triggered by the beacon," Anderson stated, more as a last ditch effort.

"Are we allowing dreams into evidence now? How can I defend my innocence against this kind of testimony?" Saren sarcastically asked as he's well aware of what the vision showed.

"I agree. Our judgment must be based on facts and evidence, not wild imaginings and reckless speculation." Sparatus stated.

"Let me ask you something Councilors, two things actually… One; do you dream? Don't answer just yet and just think about my two questions. When you wake up from your dreams, do you remember everything vividly? The scents, the sounds? I can still smell the acrid smoke and my throat still feels slightly tinged. What I experienced was more than a dream. As far as my second question. This was Nihlus' assignment, so I have to wonder what would bring your number one Specter to a backwater Human colony? Did you perhaps have no confidence in Nihlus, that you had to send your _golden boy_.?" Neira asked making sarcastic finger quotes.

"What I was doing there is not of your concern Human, I'm a Spectre, and what I do is classified. I would think that with you being in your N7 Program, you would understand a thing or two about classified missions." Saren stated.

"That is correct, but _we_ will discuss your reasons of being there in private, Saren. We understood?" Sparatus noted to Saren who just nodded.

"Do you have anything else to add, Commander Shepard?" Councilor Valern asked.

Shepard put her hand on her hips and shook her head. "What's the point? You've made your decision, I won't waste my breath," Neira said coldly.

The Council looked at each other and shook their heads. "The Council has found no evidence of any connection between Saren and the Geth. Ambassador, your petition to have him disbarred from the Specters is denied," Councilor Tevos judged.

"I'm glad to see justice was served," Saren said with a sarcastic grin then his holo link went dead.

"This meeting is adjourned," Tevos announced.

The alliance members stepped away from the podium and went down the stairs. Udina looked over at Anderson. "It was a mistake bringing you into that hearing, Captain. You and Saren have too much history. It made the Council question our motives." Udina said exasperated.

"I know Saren. He's working with the Geth for one reason: to exterminate the entire Human race. Every colony we have is at risk. Every world we control is in danger. Even Earth isn't safe." Anderson said with a very strong convictions in his voice.

"The council won't help us. We need to deal with Saren ourselves," Shepard stated hoping for the chance to squeeze the life out of Saren with her bare hands.

Udina covered his mouth with his hand in thought. "As a Spectre, he's virtually untouchable. We need to find some way to expose him," Udina said flatly not confident in their odds.

"What about Garrus, that C-Sec investigator? We saw him arguing with the Executor." Kaiden asked.

"That's right! He was asking for more time to finish his report. Seems like he was close to finding something on Saren." Ashley added.

"I don't trust him. He's a Turian. I don't want him on our side," Neira snapped, more out of frustration with how Turians view Humans.

"Not all Turians are like Saren. If he can help, we need to find him. I have a contact in C-Sec who can help us track Garrus down. His name is Harkin." Udina said.

"Forget it. They suspended Harkin last month. Drinking on the job. I wouldn't waste my time with that loser." Anderson argued.

"You won't have to. I don't want the Council using your past history with Saren as an excuse to ignore anything we turn up. Shepard will handle this," Udina countered.

"I don't like this. You can't just cut Captain Anderson out of this investigation," Shepard argued.

Anderson shook his head. "Unfortunately, the Ambassador is right. I need to step aside." Anderson stated with a heavy sigh.

"I need to take care of some business. Captain, meet me in my office later." Udina commented then walked off.

Anderson turned back to Neira. "Harkin's probably getting drunk at Chora's den. It's a dingy little club in the lower section of the wards.

"Any other leads, Captain? Maybe there's another way to find evidence against Saren." Shepard asked.

"Hmmm… you should talk to Barla Von. Over in the financial district. Rumor has it he's an agent for the Shadow Broker." Anderson suggested.

"The Shadow Broker?" Asked Ashley.

"An information dealer. Buys and sells secrets to the highest bidder. I've heard Barla Von's one of his top representatives. He might know something about Saren. But his information won't come cheap." Anderson explained.

Neira nodded. "Goodbye, Captain. We should go." Neira declared with a salute.

"Good luck, Shepard. I'll be over in the Ambassador's office if you need anything." Anderson responded returning her salute.

Shepard and company left Anderson and started back out of the Tower. "So this is where the Council passes judgment on all us little folk, huh? Ever get the feeling we're in over our heads, Red?" Ashley asked.

Neira chuckled. "Come on, Ash. When has that ever stopped me-" The two girls shared a laugh.

Alenko shook his head. "The thought did cross my mind a time or two, Chief." Alenko added to the exchange.

"Stick with me LT, and you'll get used to it." Neira laughed.

"That's what I'm afraid of." At that the three laughed softly.

The threesome soon entered the elevator back to the Presidium. "I can't believe the Council ignored all the evidence against Saren!" Ashley growled.

"Saren's one of their best operatives. It's only natural that they'd take his word over ours." Alenko reminded Ashley.

"Oh, so we just chase leads while that smug Turian runs around with his Geth troopers?" Ashley responded sarcastically.

"That's politics, Chief." Kaiden replied.

"I hate politics-" Ashley sighed.

"Don't blame you there, Ash with what Alliance politics have done trying to stunt your career." Neira added.

"All politics, Neira." Ashley sighed.

"Don't forget, I also planted seeds of doubt in their minds at the end there..." Neira added.

–-

Shepard and company soon found the Shadow Broker's representative Barla Von. The Volus looked up when his door opened. "Ah. Is there anything I can do for you today, Commander?" He asked through the hissing of his breathing apparatus.

"I need information. I heard you work for the Shadow Broker. Do you have any information about Saren?" Neira asked flatly.

"You're very blunt, Shepard. But you're right. I am an agent for the Shadow Broker. And I do know something about Saren." Barla Von stated.

"Start talking. I need that information now." Shepard demanded sharply with a cold tone.

"Threats don't work on me, Shepard. This information is worth a small fortune, but this is an unusual situation. So I'm going to let you have it for free." He stated neutrally and unfazed by Shepard's demand.

"What's the catch? There's always a catch." Ashley questioned.

"There is no catch. The Shadow Broker is quite upset with Saren right now. They used to do a lot of business together. That is until Saren turned on him." Barla Von stated.

"What a shock. Saren betrayed him. Imagine that." Neira sarcastically responded.

"No matter what you think of Saren, he's not stupid. He knows the Shadow Broker's a valuable ally. Turning on him makes no sense. Not unless something huge was at stake." Barla Von rebutted shaking his head. "I don't know the details, but the Shadow Broker hired a freelancer to deal with it. A Krogan mercenary.

"Anything else? That's not much to go on." Neira asked.

"I just told you that the most famous Spectre in the galaxy betrayed the Shadow Broker. Quite a bargain, considering the price. Speak with the Krogan if you want to learn more. I heard he was paying a visit to Citadel Security. If you hurry, you might catch him before he leaves the academy." Barla countered.

"Why is he there? Isn't it strange that a Krogan would want to speak with C-Sec?" Neira asked puzzled.

"Very. However, I doubt the visit was entirely his choice. You'll have to speak with him if you want to know more." Barla replied.

Neira nodded. "Thanks for the info." She then turned and left. The trio then made their way to the wards sector to continue their investigation when they were being waved over by a woman.

"Commander Shepard? Excuse me, Commander Shepard!" The woman called out waving for her.

Shepard sighed and walked over. "Thanks for stopping Commander. I'm Emily Wong. I'm an investigative journalist working here on the Citadel. Could I have a moment of your time?"

"I don't have time to give interviews, Ms. Wong." Neira stated sharply.

Emily waved Shepard off. I don't want an interview. I'm looking for information. I've been hunting for evidence of corruption and organized crime on the Citadel, but there are places I can't go. I was hoping that you might share anything you might find during your own investigation. I can make it worth your time." She countered.

"We'll see. No promises, but if I find anything relating to your case, I'll inform you." Neira said realizing the value of Ms. Wong's investigation.

"Thank you, Commander. You won't regret it." Ms. Wong assured the commander enthusiastically that she might get help from someone like Neira Shepard.

After leaving Emily, the three continued walking through the wards stopping just to browse the wares of the various shops. Eventually they went down to the lower level and headed for Chora's Den where they got ambushed by a trio of would-be assassins.

The trio dove for cover. Neira gave signs to Alenko and Williams to take up positions. Alenko to Neira's right, and Williams to her left. Ashley pulled her Sniper knowing what Neira had planned.

Neira took a deep breath and her body became enveloped in the familiar blue glow of a Biotic Barrier. She looked down at her right hand that started to glow with a swirl as she prepared to release a singularity. She stood up thrusting her palm outward and a swirling Biotic Mass took shape just above the assassins.

Alenko fired off a warp that detonated on one assassin, while Ashley quickly fired off two shots hitting the other two between the eyes.

Neira rolled out of cover and motioned for the others to follow.

The door to Chora's Den opened as they approached to find it full of patrons and dancers. The three relaxed putting away their weapons and canceling their Barriers.

Looking around, Neira narrows her eyes as she spotted a Human fitting Anderson's description of Harkin and walked over. "Hey there, sweetheart. You looking for some fun? 'Cause I gotta say that soldier getup looks real good on on that bod of yours. Why don't you sit your sweet 'lil ass down beside old Harkin? Have a drink, and we'll see where this goes." Harkin commented in a sleazy tone.

Neira glared at him. "Your disgusting. I'd rather drink a cup of acid after chewing on a razor blade." Neira glowered in disgust.

"You trying to hurt my feelings? You gotta do better than that. After twenty years with C-Sec, I've been called every name in the book, Princess." Harkin countered sarcastically.

"Don't ever call me that- call me Princess again and you'll be picking your teeth up off the floor. Now tell me where Garrus is!" Neira snarled.

Harkin quickly raised up his hands. "Okay, okay. Just relax. Garrus, you say? Heh, you must be one of Anderson's crew. Poor bastard's still trying to bring Saren down, eh?" Harkin said defensively.

Harkin turned his head away from Neira. "I know where Garrus is. But you gotta tell me something first. Did the Captain let you in on his big secret?" He asked turning back to Shepard with smug look.

"I don't have time for your bullshit. Just tell me where Garrus is before this gets ugly- real ugly, real fast-" Neira said threateningly.

"But it's all related. Don't you see? The Captain used to be a Spectre. Didn't know that, did you? It was all very hush-hush. The first Human ever given that honor. And then he blew it. Screwed up his mission so bad they kicked him out. Of course, he blames Saren. Says the Turian set him up.

Neira narrowed her eyes at Harkin. "You're lying… give me one damned reason I should believe a lush like you?" She sneered.

Harkin just waved a hand. "Fine, ask Anderson yourself. I bet he tells 'ya. The man's to stupid and proud to lie to your face." Harkin replied flatly and took another drink.

Neira sighed trying to keep her anger under control. "That's not why I'm here. Just tell me where Garrus went."

"Garrus was sniffing around Doctor Michelle's office. She runs the med clinic on the other side of the ward. The last I heard, he was going back there." Harkin answered flatly.

"I'm out of here." Neira replied with a tilt of her head and did an about face. She looked at Ash and Alenko. "Come on, we're going to the med clinic."

"Aye, aye ma'am." Alenko responded, and Ash just gave a head nod.

 **Lower Wards Medical Clinic**

Just as Neira and crew walked in, she could see Garrus crouched down with his pistol in hand. She could hear a scared woman's voice.

"I didn't tell anyone, I swear."

"That was smart Doc, Now if Garrus comes around, you stay smart." Some gruff looking guy threatened the Doctor.

This caused Neira to snarl and draw her pistol.

"Now you stay. Keep your mouth shut or..." The guy noticed Shepard and grabbed the doctor. "Who are you!?" He ordered.

"Let her go." Neira demanded aiming her pistol.

Garrus capitalized on the situation, springing up firing off a single shot into the man's temple. Causing Doctor Michelle to cry out in fear.

Garrus stepped forward as the man's two buddies back peddled keeping their pistols leveled at Garrus as they made a hasty retreat out the back door.

"Perfect timing Shepard. Gave me a clear shot at that bastard." Garrus complimented Neira.

"Nice shot. You took him down clean." Neira complimented the Turian.

"Sometimes you get lucky- Doctor Michelle." Garrus addressed the ginger haired Doctor turning his attention from Shepard to the Doctor. "Are you hurt?" Garrus asked her concerned.

"No, I'm ok. Thanks to you- all of you." She replied still shaken.

"Why were they threatening you? Who do they work for?" Asked Neira.

"They work for Fist. They wanted to shut me up, to prevent me from telling Garrus about the Quarian." She answered.

"What Quarian?" Shepard asked confused.

Doctor Michelle took a deep breath and began wringing her hands nervously. "A few days ago, a young Quarian came by my office." She started and began pacing. "She had been shot, but wouldn't tell me who did it. I could see that she was scared, probably on the run She asked me about the Shadow broker. She wanted to trade information in exchange for a safe place to hide." She explained.

"Then what?" Asked Neira.

"I put her in contact with Fist. He's an agent for the Shadow broker." The Doctor explained.

"Not anymore. Now he works for Saren, and the Shadow broker isn't to happy about it." Garrus interrupted.

"Fist betrayed the Shadow broker? That's stupid, even for him. Saren must've made him quite the offer." The Doctor said shocked at what she had just heard.

Garrus pointed in Neira's direction, not at her. "That Quarian must have something Saren wants. Something worth crossing the Shadow broker to get." Garrus deduced.

"She must have something that proves he's a traitor." Neira agreed. Neira looked over to Doctor Michelle. "Did the Quarian say anything about Saren or the Geth?"

Doctor Michelle nodded. "She did. The information she was going to trade. She said it had something to do with the Geth." She replied.

"She must be able to link Saren to the Geth." Garrus concluded turning to Shepard. "There's no way the council can ignore this." Garrus growled.

"We don't have anything yet. Time we paid Fist a visit." Shepard stated, and there was no mistaking that she didn't exactly mean a social call.

"This is your show Shepard, but I want to bring Saren down as much as you do. I'm coming with you." Garrus stated firmly.

"Ok, welcome aboard Garrus." Neira accepted with a slight nod.

Garrus rubbed his chin. "You know, we aren't the only ones going after Fist. The Shadow broker hired a Krogan Bounty Hunter named Wrex to take him out." Garrus informed Shepard.

"Yeah, we saw him in the bar." Ashley interjected.

Neira turned her head to Ash. "We could use him. A Krogan might come in handy." Neira acknowledged.

"Last I heard, he was at the C-Sec academy." Garrus informed them.

"What's he doing there?" Alenko asked.

"Fist accused him of making threats. We brought Wrex in for a _little talk_." Replied Garrus. "If you hurry, we can catch him at the academy before he leaves."

Neira made a motion to the door. "Move out."

 _C-SEC Academy_

"Witness' say they saw you making threats in Fist's bar. Stay away from him." Ordered a C-Sec Officer to Wrex.

"I don't take orders from you." Wrex shot back not intimidated by the Human officer.

"This is your only warning Wrex." The Officer threatened leaning in.

"You should warn Fist. I will Kill him." Wrex responded leaning in more causing the officer to back off slightly.

The officer raised a brow and pointed at the Krogan bounty hunter. "You want me to arrest you?" He asked surprised.

"I want you to try." Wrex replied with an insidiously challenging voice. He then noticed Shepard and crew looking over at them. Wrex turned from the officer to go over to her.

"Go on, get out of here." The Officer said with his voice falling on deaf ears.

Wrex got in Shepard's face. "Do I know you Human?" He asked.

"Fist is mine. I'm going after him, I don't want you getting in my way."

Wrex looked at Shepard long and hard. "Huh. Now I recognize you. Commander Shepard from the Alliance." He waved a finger. "I've heard a lot about you. We're both warriors, Shepard. Out of respect, I'll give you fare warning. I'm going to kill Fist." Wrex said in a low and menacing voice.

"Fist knows you're coming, we'll have a better chance if we all work together." Ashley interjected.

Wrex tossed a side look at Ashley and nodded. "My people have a saying. Seek the enemy of your enemy, and you'll find a friend."

"I like that saying. I think we'll get along just fine Wrex." Neira said shaking Wrex's hand.

"Let's go, I'd hate to keep Fist waiting." Wrex gave a sinister grin as his head moved from side to side as he eagerly awaited the confrontation.

 **Please rate and review**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I don't own Mass Effect**

 **Sorry about the long delay, but had a lot of RL get in the way of my writing, such as fighting with depression, moving, working on other stories, editing and rewriting parts of this chapter. I have found a beta for only one of my stories and that's for my Star Wars Rebels AU story, and am still trying to find one for this one.**

 **Chapter 7**

Neira left C-Sec Academy with Ashley, Alenko, Garrus, and now the Krogan mercenary Wrex in tow. After leaving the academy, the foursome took a taxi to the lower wards, not a word was spoken. Alenko and Williams felt a little uneasy with Wrex in the taxi.

Wrex spared a look over at the commander and smiled seeing the cold hard look on her face. "Remember one thing Wrex. I need him alive at least long enough to answer my questions." Neira commented flatly staring ahead never once looking to the Krogan.

"Yeah, trust me. You don't want to cross re… The Commander." Ashley corrected herself from almost using her nickname for her long-time friend.

Wrex remained silent, but pulled out his omnitool and looked up what the holonet had on the Commander. Seeing her public record and the accounts of how brutal she can be in the line of duty, especially reading the accounts of what she did on Torfan an unaccustomed uneasiness came over Wrex. "Gotcha' on that. From everything I've read and heard about Shepard, I don't know who would come out on top, but I do know we'd both be feeling the aftermath for weeks." Wrex commented.

Ashley turned to face Wrex. "Oh really, you think so?"

Wrex turned his head slightly to the Gunnery Chief blood red eyes staring her in the eye and just nodded.

Ashley leaned in and whispered in his ear hole explaining what happens when Neira _loses_ it and her Biotic Aura goes from blue to red.

The Krogan's eyes went wide and lost all color in his face. "So, we won't have a problem following my lead Krogan, will we?" Neira stated catching the look on Wrex's face from the reflection in the mirror.

"None." He simply stated regaining his composure in record time.

"Good, I don't have an issue with you, and would like to keep it that way."

 **Chora's Den**

Not surprising, Fist had a little _welcoming party_ for Shepard and crew. As soon as they entered, there were all manner of thugs gunning for them. "I don't have time for this shit…" Neira snarled and her Biotic Aura immediately flared into her red corona. With a wave of a hand the thugs slammed into the walls with such force and impact that as they slid down the walls to the floor, they left a trail of crimson or blue in the case of Turians smeared on the walls.

"That's the Skipper for 'ya Wrex." Ash stated shaking her head.

"Point taken. I'll be good, get whatever info you need then he's mine." Wrex gingerly stated.

"Don't look at me, I didn't hear anything." Garrus added garnering a smirk from Wrex.

"Fine by me, as long as he talks first. Just one less criminal stinking up the Citadel as far as I'm concerned."

As much as he wanted to say something, he knew it was damn near useless to talk reason to Shepard when she was like this, so Alenko kept quiet.

Knowing how important getting this information, and that her friend was highly irrational when her red corona was active, Ash forced her way in front of Neira and grabbed her armor by the collar with both hands and stared deep into her emerald eyes that were starting to gain a reddish glow.

"Red, look at me. It's me Ash… calm yourself, going into this in this state will be detrimental. You'll just do Wrex's job for him and not get the information we need. Remember, the Quarian. Remember Saren." Ashley said in her usual soothing voice she used when calming down Shepard.

Kaiden tilted his head to the Krogan, when she loses it, the Gunney is the only person in the Galaxy that can calm her and bring her down and bring her to her senses. So, it would be wise to remain on the Gunney's good side."

Wrex nodded. "Noted, I have been to every corner of this galaxy, and have never seen anything that gave me a scare… that is until now, the Commander scares the hell out of me after seeing that."

"She scares the bejeezus out of everyone." Kaiden chuckled.

Ashley jerked her head to the two "Stow it, She doesn't scare me."

"That's because even in that state she'd never lay a hand on you Chief. You grew up together, you're as close to si..." Kaiden began before Ash cut him off.

"SHUT IT LT! You know not to use that word around her, especially while in this state." Ashley reminded Alenko.

Alenko covered his mouth with his hand. "Shit, almost forgot."

Ashley turned back to Neira. "Calm down and take a few deep breaths."

Neira looked into Ashley's soft brown eyes, the look in her eyes were of understanding. She then closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths letting them out slowly. Her red corona started to ebb.

"Thanks Ash." Neira smiled.

"Remind me not to get on your bad side Shepard." Wrex chuckled nervously.

Neira turned her head slightly to the Krogan. "My subordinates have nothing to fear from me, unless they recklessly charge into the fray when I unleash my fury."

"Noted."

Neira stepped into the club the others following behind her. She took the right path around the circular shaped club when she came across a Turian not quite dead. It was on its stomach reaching for his pistol. Neira stepped on the Turian thug's hand causing him to look up at the Alliance Commander.

The Turian flared its mandibles as it wheezed trying to breathe. Neira just looked down at the thing and put a round through his head and continued her path to the hall leading to Fist's office.

Jesus, Commander… I think that's your saying. Was that really necessary?" Garrus asked.

"It was a mercy killing, unless you would prefer him dying slowly as he bled out?"

"No, you're right…"

Entering the hallway the group came upon two Humans that drew pistols on them. "Hold it right there. Don't come any closer." Demanded one of them.

"Warehouse workers, all the real guards must be dead." Ashley casually stated to Neira.

"Stay back or we'll shoot." The other armed Warehouse Worker cautioned trying to sound intimidating, but failed miserably.

"You're making a mistake. I just killed fifty bodyguards to get in here." Neira casually responded motioning to the club with her thumb and slight head tilt. "What do you think I'll do to you?" She asked.

"Uhhh- well uhhh." The first guard stammered wiping his brow with his gun hand nervously.

The other guard lowered his weapon as did his companion. "Screw Fist, he doesn't pay us enough for this- not to take on Commandos." The two then carefully walked out leaving Neira and her crew.

"Shooting them would've been easier." Wrex Grumbled.

"Shooting people isn't always the answer." Ashley retorted.

"Garrus, stay at the door and watch for any uninvited guests to the party. I don't think you would want to be in there anyways as a C-Sec Officer." Neira suggested.

"Roger that, Commander." Garrus then took position putting his back to the door and acted like a bodyguard.

After a quick hack, Fist's office door opened. Fist was ready, or so he thought. He had his pistol at the ready and two hovering attack drones. Neira quickly threw up a singularity pulling the drones in and crushing them, while Ashley and Alenko both put a round into each of Fist's thighs dropping him.

Rex charged up and leveled his shotgun at Fist. "Wait, don't kill me. I surrender." Fist Cowered.

"No sudden moves Fist, the Commander here has some questions for you, and I have a real itchy trigger finger." Wrex growled showing a great deal of restraint that greatly impressed both Ashley and Kaiden.

"Start talking. Tell me where the Quarrian is and I won't have to shoot you in the knee caps." Neira demanded leveling one of her pistols at Fist's head.

"She's not here, I don't know where she is. That's the truth." Fist said nervously.

"He's no use to you now, let me kill him." Rex said taking a step closer.

"Wait, wait- I don't know where the Quarian is, but I know where you can find her." Fist said cowering from the Krogan. "The Quarrian isn't here, said she'd only deal with the Shadow Broker himself."

"Face to face? Impossible." Wrex said shaking his head. "Even _I_ was hired through an agent."

Neira turned her attention to Wrex for a moment then snapped her head back to Fist. The look she gave fist told him his death was nigh. "Nobody meets the Shadow Broker ever. Even I don't know his true identity. But she didn't know that, I told her I'd set a meeting up. But when she does show up, it'll be Saren's men waiting for her."

"You son of a bitch! Tell me where that meeting is before I blow your lying head off." Neira snarled stomping down on his right thigh which was shot by Ashley grinding the ball of her foot into the wound.

Fist cried out in pain. "Here- on the ward, back alley of the markets. She's supposed to meet them right now, you can make it if you hurry."

Neira turned to face her crew. "Let's move Double time it!" She ordered giving an approving nod to Wrex. Wrex gladly stepped forward blasting Fist in the chest with his shotgun.

Hearing the shot, Ashley swung around aiming her assault rifle at Wrex. "Drop the gun Krogan." Ashley demanded.

"The Shadow Broker paid me to kill him. I don't leave jobs half done."

Neira placed her hand on Ashley's rifle lowering it. "He deserved it. A lot of people died because of him, he had it coming. Now let's move. We have to save that Quarrian." Neira said agreeing with Wrex.

Out of the corner of his eye Wrex spotted some disks on the floor and grabbed them.

"Shepard, these might be of importance." he said handing them to her. Neira nodded taking them and storing them in a pouch.

 **Lower Wards, Back Alley**

A young female Quarrian was standing facing a Turian. "Did you bring it?" The Turian asked.

The Turian walked up to the girl caressing her head, only to have the girl slap his unwanted advances away.

"Where's the Shadow broker? Where's Fist?"

"They'll be here, where's the evidence?" The Turian asked.

"No way, the deal's off."

At that two armored figures turned around, but the Quarrian was ready for a setup and threw a grenade and rolled out of the way. The grenade knocked down the two armored thugs.

Hearing the explosion caused Neira to charge faster. Taking in the scene, her body became enveloped in a blue Biotic Aura as she used her Biotic Charge slamming into the Turian and driving her wrist blade under his chin and out the top of his skull.

Ashley and Kaiden put well aimed shots into the heads of the other guards guards as they tried to get to their feet.

The Quarrian turned to face her rescuers. "Fist set me up. I knew I couldn't trust him." She fretted to Neira thrusting her hand to the side in aggravation.

"Give me the evidence. You have proof that Saren is working with the Geth, hand it over."

The Quarrian raised her hand pointing at Neira. "Not so fast, who are you?"

"Someone who just saved your life. I don't have time for questions. I _need_ the evidence you have against Saren." Neira emphasized the importance of needing the evidence.

The Quarrian scratched her head. "I—I guess I owe you, but not here, out in the open. We need to go somewhere safe."

"The Ambassador's Office. It's safe there, and he'll want to see this anyway." Ashley suggested.

Neira nodded in agreement and led The Quarrian along with the rest of her crew back to Udina's office. When they entered, Udina was looking out his window when he heard the door open. His secretary already informed him of Neira's arrival.

"You're not making my life easy Shepard." Udina began shaking his head. "Firefights in the wards, an all out assault on Chora's Den-" Udina stated turning around.

He pointed angrily at Shepard. "Do you know how many-" He cut himself short when he spotted the Quarrian, Turian, and Krogan. "Who's this? A Quarrian, Turian, and a Krogan? What are you up to Shepard?" He asked.

Captain Anderson stood behind Udina letting the Ambassador speak, as he was intrigued by the appearance of the Krogan, Turian, and the Quarrian at his XO's side.

"Shut up and I'll tell you." Neira was standing at rest and motioned to the Quarrian with her head. "This Quarrian can help us bring down Saren. I would've told you that if you hadn't jumped down my throat."

Udina shook his head. "I-uh- I apologize Shepard, this whole thing with Saren has me a bit on edge." Udina apologized and reeled in is emotions.

"Maybe we should just start at the beginning…" He turned to face the young Quarrian. "Miss…"

The Quarrian motioned to herself. "My name's Tali- Tali'Zorah nar Rayya."

"We don't see many Quarrians here, why did you leave the Flotilla?" Udina asked curious about the young Quarrian.

Tali started to pace. "I was on my pilgrimage- my right of passage in to adulthood." She explained.

"Get to the point. Not to sound rude, but where's the proof you promised?" Shepard asked feeling a little aggravated as she wanted to nail Saren desperately.

Tali turned to face Shepard. "During my travels, I started to hear reports of Geth. Since they drove my people in to exile, they have never ventured beyond the Veil." Tali explained eliciting Udina to grip his chin as he listened. The man knew very little about the history between the Geth and the Quarrians. "I was curious. I tracked a patrol of Geth to an uncharted world. I waited for one to become separated from its unit, then I disabled it and removed its memory core." She explained.

"I thought that the Geth fried their memory cores when they died. Some sort of defense mechanism." Anderson chimed in.

"Go on. What did you find out?" Neira asked, her curiosity piquing.

"Most of the core was wiped clean, but I salvaged something from its audio banks." Tali explained as she activated her omnitool and played the stored audio.

"Eden Prime was a major victory, finding the Beacon has brought us one step closer to finding the conduit."

"That's Saren's voice. This proves he was involved in the attack." Anderson said pointing to Tali's Omnitool.

"We've got him! Saren won't get out of this one." Neira responded in a low angry voice.

"Wait, there's more. Saren wasn't working alone." Tali interrupted shaking her head slightly. She reactivated her Omnitool and continued the playback.

"And one step closer to the return of the Reapers." A female's voice said.

"I don't recognize that other voice, the one talking about Reapers," Udina stated frustrated.

"Reapers? Sounds familiar. I feel like I've heard that name before," Shepard commented.

"According to the memory core, the Reapers were a hyper advanced machine race that existed fifty thousand years ago. The Reapers hunted the Protheans to total extinction, then they vanished. At least, that's what the Geth believe," Tali explained.

"Sounds a bit far-fetched." Udina scoffed.

"It's not far-fetched. The vision on Eden Prime- I understand it now." Shepard said scratching her head. I saw the Protheans being wiped out by the Reapers."

"The Geth revere the Reapers as Gods. The pinnacle of non-organic life, and _they_ believe Saren knows how to bring the Reapers back," Tali stated matter of fact.

Udina crossed his arms and shook his head slowly. "The Council is just going to _love_ this."

"Don't tell them. They won't believe you anyways, just keep them out of this." Shepard suggested.

"We have to tell them. Even if they don't believe anything else, this proves that Saren is a traitor," Anderson pointed out negating Shepards suggestion.

"The Captain's right. We need to present this to the Council right away," Udina agreed with Anderson.

"What about her? The Quarrian," Wrex finally asked letting the Humans deal with the situation at hand for the most part.

"My name's Tali- You saw me in the alley Commander. You know what I can do. Let me come with you," Tali argued trying to get on board.

"You're not ready for this. I'm sorry Tali, but I think this might be more than you can handle."

"She's already handled a run-in with the Geth Shepard, and we need all the help we can get. Take her with you," Udina countered Shepard then turned to the Captain. "Anderson and I will go on ahead and get things ready with the Council. Take a few minutes to collect yourself, then meet us in the tower."

 **Council Tower**

Shepard arrived with Williams, Alenko, Wrex, Garrus, and Tali in tow. Anderson was awaiting at the base of the stairs leading up to the podium that address' the Council. "Come on, Udina is presenting the Quarrian's evidence to the Council," Anderson stated then turned to lead the group up the stairs.

The same exact audio that Tali had played earlier was already playing as Anderson and Shepard walked up and stood on either side of Udina, while the others stayed back.

Udina pointed at the Council. "You wanted proof, there it is," The Alliance Ambassador yelled at the Council dripping with confidence now that they had irrefutable evidence towards Saren's treachery.

Councilor Sparatus shook his head in disbelief. "This evidence is irrefutable Ambassador. Saren will be stripped of his Spectre status, and all efforts will be made to bring him in to answer for his crimes."

Councilor Tevos turned her head to Councilor Sparatus. "I recognize the other voice, the one speaking with Saren. Matriarch Benezia."

"Another traitor. She must be working with the Geth too," Shepard interjected.

"Matriach Benezia is a powerful Biotic, and she had many followers. She'll make a formidable ally for Saren," Tevos informed everyone.

"I'm more interested in the Reapers, what do you know about them?" Councilor Valern asked.

"Only what was extracted from the Geth's memory core. The Reapers were an ancient race of sentient machines that wiped out the Protheans," Anderson explained.

"That's why they follow Saren. The Geth believe that the Reapers are-Gods, and that Saren is the prophet for their return," Shepard added.

"We think that this Conduit is the key to bringing them back. Saren's searching for it, that's why he attacked Eden Prime," Anderson continued.

"Do we even know what this conduit is?" Valern asked.

"It's trouble. Saren thinks it can bring back the Reapers, that's bad enough," Shepard stated.

"Listen to what you're saying- Saren wants to bring back the machines that wiped out all life in the Galaxy-impossible. It has to be, where did the Reapers go? Why did they vanish? Why haven't we found any trace of their existence? If they were real, we would've found something," Sparatus said disregarding their claims about the Reapers. Crossing his arms across his chest.

"Don't be a fool! I tried to warn you about Saren, and you refused to face the truth. Don't make the same mistake again," Neira growled in a low voice with a shake of her head fighting hard not to completely lash out at the Council.

Tevos leaned forward some. "This is different, you proved that Saren betrayed this Council. We all agree that he's using the Geth to search for the conduit, but we don't really know why."

"The Reapers are obviously just a myth, Commander. A convenient lie to cover Saren's true purpose. A legend he's using to bend the Geth to his will," Valern added.

"You're wrong. Fifty thousand years ago, the Reapers wiped out all galactic civilization. If Saren finds the conduit, it _WILL_ happen again," Neira growled again losing patience with the Council.

"Saren is a rogue agent on the run for his life. He no longer has the rights or resources of a SPECTER." Sparatus motioned to the rest of the Council. "The Council stripped him of his position."

Udina pointed at the Council again. "That is _**not**_ good enough. You know he's hiding somewhere in the traverse send your fleet in!" Udina demanded balling his fist in anger.

Valern shook his head slightly. "A fleet can't track down one man."

Udina looked down for a moment. "A fleet could secure an entire region, keep the Geth from attacking anymore of our colonies."

"Or it could trigger a war with the Terminus Systems. We won't be dragged into a galactic confrontation over a few dozen Human Colonies," Sparatus argued with a dismissive hand.

"Same old story. Every time Humanity asks for help, you ignore us," Shepard countered Sparatus.

Udina looked over his shoulder slightly to Commander Shepard. "Shepard's right. I'm sick of this Council and it's Anti Human Bull-" Udina started pointing accusingly at the Council before Tevos interrupted waving a hand trying to calm Udina down.

"Ambassador. There is another solution. To stop Saren that doesn't require fleets or armies," She said turning to look at Sparatus.

"No! It's too soon. Humanity is not ready for the responsibilities of joining the SPECTERS,"

"Quit holding us back!" Neira couldn't fight her pent up rage anymore. Ashley stepped up and put a hand on her friend's shoulder. "It was a _**Turian SPECTER**_ that betrayed this Council! And it was a **Human** that exposed him! **I** have earned this!" Shepard yelled at the Council, or more specifically at Councilor Sparatus pointing a finger accusingly at him. Shepard was surprisingly able to not manifest her red aura which made Ashley slide back in line with the others.

Tevos and Valern turned to look over at Sparatus who in defeat bowed his head, then nodded reluctantly. The three Councilors placed their votes at the terminals in front of them.

Tevos after reading the results of the vote looked out at Shepard. "Commander Shepard, step forward," She instructed.

Anderson turned his head and smiled at his XO. When she stepped forward, Udina yielded the front of the podium to the Commander. All those in attendance of the Council meeting leaned forward leaning on their railings. Shepard looked up to the upper levels taking in the interest of all around, she then turned to look behind her and Ashley beamed a big smile at her friend.

"It is the decision of this council that you be granted all the powers and privileges of the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance branch of the Citadel," Tevos stated.

Valern crossed his arms as he looked at Shepard. "SPECTERS are not trained, but chosen. Individuals forged in the fires of service and battle. Those whose actions elevate them above the rank and file."

"SPECTERS are an ideal- a symbol, the embodiment of courage, of determination, and self reliance," Tevos began closing her eyes and looking upwards momentarily before looking back to Shepard. "They are the right hand of the Council, instruments of our will."

Now it was Sparatus who stood tall as he gazed at Shepard. All three Councilors reviewed her service record before agreeing to test her and sent Nihlus to watch her. "SPECTERS bare a great burden. They are protectors of Galactic peace, both our first and last line of defense. The safety of the Galaxy is theirs to uphold."

"You are the first Human SPECTER Commander. It's a great accomplishment for you, and your entire species," The level-headed and most diplomatic of the Councilors, Councilor Tevos finished.

"It's about time. I've been ready for this since Eden Prime." Shepard stated standing tall.

"We're sending you into the Traverse after Saren. He's a fugitive from justice, so you are authorized to use any means to apprehend or eliminate him as you see fit," Valern stated flatly.

"I'm ready. I'll find him." Shepard promised.

"This meeting of the Council is adjourned," Tevos stated.

Shepard stood tall at attention and nodded to the Council. She then turned to face Anderson. Anderson extended his hand and Neira gladly accepted it. "Congratulations Commander."

Udina put his hand to his chin in thought. "We have a lot of work to do Shepard. You're going to need a ship, a crew, supplies-"

"You'll get access to special equipment and training now. You should go down to the C-Sec Academy, and speak with the Specter's Requisitions Officer," Anderson added.

Udina turned his head to the Captain. "Anderson! Come with me, I'll need your help to set this all up," At that Udina and Anderson left Shepard and her crew.

"Hmmph- Bastard didn't even thank you," Wrex commented.

"Figures. What do you expect from a politician?" Neira responded.

Ashley shook her head. "Politicians- who needs them."

 **Alliance Docking Bay**

Shepard and company were told to meet Udina and Anderson by the Normandy. So after checking out the Specter's Requisitions and getting some upgrades, they met up with Udina and Anderson.

"I've got some big news for you Shepard," Udina motioned to Captain Anderson. "Captain Anderson is stepping down as Commanding Officer of the Normandy, the ship is yours now."

Anderson turned to face Shepard with arms crossed with a slight smile. "She's quick and quiet, and you know the crew. A perfect ship for a SPECTER. Treat her well Commander."

"Forced retirement? This isn't right," Shepard stated in disbelief throwing an arm to the side in disbelief. "The Normandy belongs to you," She said pointing to Anderson.

"You needed your own ship, and a SPECTER can't answer to anyone but the Council. And it's time for me to step down," Anderson stated lowering his head.

Neira sighed in annoyance. "Any word on Saren? What kind of leads do we have?"

Anderson sighed softly. "Saren's gone. Don't even try to find him. But we know what he's after- the conduit." Anderson answered pointing to Shepard. "He's got his Geth scouring the Traverse searching for clues."

"We've had reports of Geth in the Ferros System shortly before our colony there dropped out of contact, and there have been sightings around Novaria," Udina informed Shepard.

"Find out what Saren was after on Ferros and Novaria. Maybe you can figure out what the conduit is before he does," Anderson suggested.

"Is that it? Anything else?" Neira asked.

"We have one more lead," Udina said with a slight point. The tone in his voice made him sound skeptical about it. "Matriarch Benezia, that other voice on the recording. She has a daughter, a scientist who specializes in the Protheans. We don't know if she's involved, but it might be a good idea to try and find her, see what she knows. Her name is Liara… Dr. Liara T'soni. We have reports that she was exploring an archeological dig on one of the uncharted worlds in the Artemis Tau Sector," Udina briefed Shepard.

"I'll start there. Sounds like we should head to the Artemis Tau Sector."

"It's your decision Commander. You're a SPECTER now, Commander. You don't answer to us," Anderson responded.

"But your actions still reflect on Humanity as a whole. You make a mess, and _**I**_ get stuck cleaning it up," Udina warned.

"That's your job. I'll take care of Saren, you take care of the political fallout," Shepard shot back.

Udina looked down shaking his head. "Not exactly the answer I was looking for, Shepard. Remember, you were a Human Alliance Officer, long before you were a SPECTER- I have a meeting to get to, Captain Anderson can answer any more questions you might have," Udina stated as he started to walk away.

Neira snatched Udina by the arm and pulled him in closer narrowing her eyes at the Ambassador. "You just remember one thing Ambassador- You, and the Alliance decided planning this whole SPECTER thing for me without ever consulting me first! Finding out at the last minute that Nihlus was there to scout me for the SPECTERs at the last minute! You very well damn know my record. You know I'M the one called in when a critical OP **MUST** succeed! I may not be very political, but you damn sure know, that when the shit hits the fan, there's nobody better to be stuck in a foxhole with!" Neira hissed at Udina.

"And just how many soldiers died under you Commander, because you can't keep that temper of yours in check?" Udina shot back.

"That's on Alliance Command!"

Udina balked at the incredulous accusation. "How can you stand there and blame Command for your own temper!?"

Neira thrust her arm out towards Ashley and used a minor Biotic Pull on her. "You see this Woman!? She's my conscience! She's the only person in this GOD-FORSAKEN Galaxy that can keep me in check! You demand to know how I can make those accusations!? I'll give you proof- You go back and read my damned service record- look at my record with her in my unit, and when Command decided to pull her out of my command, and station her on a backwater planet! She's one of the finest soldiers we have, and you squandered her talents she's bar none the best God damned Sniper in the Alliance, if not the blasted Galaxy!"

Udina narrowed his eyes at the Commander, but turned to look over at Anderson. "Captain, can't you do something about the Commander?" Udina demanded.

"Do what exactly? She's a SPECTER— _above the rank and file, remember?_ As far as her accusations go, I stand behind every damned word she said, because it's the damned truth. Not even her own mother can bring her out of a rage like Williams can." Anderson pointed out. "I personally put Williams name up for enrollment in the N7 program, and as you know my name holds a hell of a lot of weight with the N7 Program, and she was denied by a unanimous vote, all because she's a Williams."

Anderson turned and faced Ashley. "When I heard they separated you from the Commander, I personally put in a request to have you transferred to my Command. I've seen what you can do during the Skyllian Blitz, but they even denied me that."

Neira, Ashley, and Alenko all blinked at the revelation that even Anderson was denied Ashley. Anderson looked to the ground. "I did some poking, and I know why she was pulled from your unit, but it's not my place to tell you. I think you should inquire with one of two particular Admirals."

Anderson turned to face Udina. "And to set the record straight, I'll admit the Commander isn't the most tactful of people, but everything she said is spot on accurate Ambassador."

Udina glared at Shepard. "I'm running late for a meeting, Anderson will answer anything else." Udina then just stormed off.

Anderson turned his attention back to Commander Shepard seeing that something was on her mind. "Yes, Commander?"

Neira took a few deep breaths to calm herself. "Are you ok, Sir? How are you holding up, I know this can't be easy for you."

Anderson sighed putting his hands on his hips and looked to the ground shaking his head. "Honestly, this isn't how I imagined my career coming to an end." He then looked up at Neira and stood tall locking his hands behind his back. "Pushing papers really isn't my thing- but, you're the one that can stop Saren. I believe in you, Shepard. If that means I have to step aside, so be it."

"Come clean with me Captain. You and Saren have a past- that drunk Harkin tried painting a picture that _you_ were the first Human SPECTER, that you messed up so bad that they kicked you out."

"Harkin's a drunk. He shouldn't be talking about things that he has no idea as to what the truth is. It's close to twenty years now, Ambassador Doyle was our representative here on the Citadel then. Like Udina, she wanted to get a Human into the SPECTERS." Anderson started before pacing. He turned around putting his hands on the guard rail and looked down into empty space.

Shepard walked over and leaned against the guardrail crossing her arms and turned her head to Anderson as he talked about the past.

Anderson turned his head to look over at his former XO. "She chose me. The Council sent Saren to keep an eye on me, and evaluate my performance. Just like they sent Nihlus to keep tabs on you."

Neira turned her head from Anderson to looking at the ground. "You lied to me, Sir. I trusted you, you betrayed me."

Anderson sighed looking away from Shepard and pushed back from the guardrail and stood in front of her with his hands behind his back standing 'at ease.' "It's not something I'm proud of. I had the chance to become the first Human SPECTER, and I failed- Saren made sure of that."

Neira lifted her head to the Captain to look the man in his eyes. "What happened exactly? I want to know the truth about you and Saren." She questioned the Captain pointing a finger at him. "I want to know about the mission you were on together all those years ago."

Anderson sighed not really wanting to relive the past, but he did owe Shepard an explanation. "We had Intel on a rogue scientist being funded by Batarian interests. He was trying to set up a facility to develop illegal A.I. technology out in the Verge." Anderson began pacing again crossing his arms across his chest. "The Alliance did all the work, but the Council wanted a SPECTER involved- we compromised." Anderson pointed to himself. "I was assigned to Saren to help him with his investigation. We tracked the Scientist to a mining facility on Kamala. He was hidden somewhere inside protected by an army of Batarian mercenaries."

Anderson went back to the guardrail placing his hands on it and stared at the Normandy for a moment. "The plan was simple; sneak into the plant, capture the scientist, and sneak back out. Quick, quiet, and a minimum of bloodshed."

Neira who never stopped leaning against the guardrail closed her eyes picturing the OP in her mind, turned her head opening her eyes. "Let me guess, Something went wrong, and Saren made sure that you took the fall."

"Very astute, Commander. Saren and I split up to cover more ground. Then about half way through the mission, there was a massive explosion in the refinery core. Officially it was ruled an accident, but I think Saren detonated it on purpose. To draw off the enemy guards."

Neira rubbed her chin. "That was a good plan. He was smart, you needed a diversion."

"This went way beyond a simple diversion, Commander. The explosion tore the refinery to shreds, the whole place was on fire." Anderson started to explain then cast his gaze downward again. "Black chemical clouds poured out into the atmosphere, nobody inside survived. There was a camp for the workers and their families nearby, between the fires and the toxic fumes, the final death count was over five hundred- mostly civilians. Saren didn't care, the target was eliminated, mission accomplished, and I ended up taking the blame. That ended all talk of me joining the SPECTERS."

Neira shook her head. "How the hell were you the one to take the blame? Saren's the one that caused the explosion, how did he pin it on you?"

"In his report, Saren accused me of blowing his cover. He claimed that it was _my_ fault that the guards were ready for us. He claimed that's why it turned into a massacre. Saren's report was all the Council needed to kill my chances of becoming a SPECTER."

Neira's lips curled in anger. "That's not fair! Why the hell did you let him get a way with it?"

"Come on, Commander, think about it for a minute. Who do you think the Council was going to listen to? Me, or their best agent? I had a bad feeling about him right from the start- from the moment I met him, I had this… this- knot in my gut telling me don't trust this man. I should've been more careful, I should've stopped things before they got out of hand…" Anderson recanted with a heavy sigh.

Neira turned to face the guard rail and put a hand on the good Captain's shoulder. "It wasn't your fault, Sir. You can't blame yourself for what that Bastard did."

"I don't, I blame Saren. I personally think that he wanted things to go bad, he was just looking for an excuse to blow that refinery. Maybe he just likes the violence. Maybe he was just trying to make me look bad to keep Humans out of the SPECTERs. If so, he pulled it off." Anderson speculated.

"That's not fair! The only thing I care about is stopping Saren permanently." Neira made a gun with her hand.

"You're right Commander, it's no good living in the past." Anderson admitted shaking his head. "Now you know why I never said anything."

"I should go, take care Captain." Neira held out her hand to her friend, former CO, and mentor.

"I'll be here if you need anything." Anderson grasped Shepard's hand.

Neira turned to face her crew, Wrex, and Tali. She walked up to Wrex and put a finger into his chest. "Just remember one thing Wrex. This is _**MY**_ ship, you _**WILL**_ do as I order, or you will find yourself floating home, we understand each other?" Neira barked.

"Ha! I like you Shepard, you would've made one hell of a Krogan Battle Master." Wrex laughed.

Neira glanced over at Tali. "Crystal. Quarrians know their place on a ship, Commander."

Neira turned on her heel and headed for the Normandy's docking ramp when they saw a Turian standing by it with his back to them. As they got closer, the Turian turned and faced them. "Commander. I want to go with you. I quit C-Sec, and want to help bring down Saren. He gives us Turians a bad name."

Neira crossed her arms and stared the Turian down with her most menacing glare. Garrus just stepped up to her. "That supposed to intimidate me Commander?"

Neira grinned and took a few steps up the ramp and spun around. "Let's make one thing clear. This is a Human Alliance ship. As such, you will obey even an Ensign, as long as it's a viable order, understood!" She boomed staring at the three new alien crew members.

"AYE, MA'AM!" The three yelled back.

Neira nodded satisfied. She then threw an arm around Ashley's shoulder and led the others back onto the Normandy.

Once in the airlock, the decontamination process began. Once that was finished, Neira stowed her gear and headed to the bridge.

"I heard what happened to Captain Anderson The man survived a hundred battles, and gets taken down by backroom politics. Just watch your back on this mission, Commander. Things go bad, and you're next on their chopping block." Joker commented.

"I'm ready." Neira tilted her head down to her pilot. "Saren's out there somewhere, and we're going to find that Turian Bastard."

"Everyone on this ship is behind you, Commander. A hundred percent. Intercom's open, if there's anything you want to say to the crew." Joker informed the Commander.

A small grin came across Neira's black painted lips. "Now we do things my way!" Neira then leaned over closer to the comm. "Listen up Normandy, this is your Commander speaking." All the crew turned their attention to the inter-ship comm system. "We have our orders, find Saren before he finds the conduit. And I Refuse to let anything get in the way of that mission. Some of you know me and my career, and what I have done and what I'm capable of doing, so when I promise you nothing, and I mean **NOTHING** will get in my way of completing this mission, you bloody well know I mean it. Nobody's going to help us. The Council wants to ignore this, that's no surprise. They never helped us in the past, no reason that they'd help us now- But we don't need their help- we are **HUMAN SYSTEMS ALLIANCE!** We are the best of the best. We can do this on our own. Saren can't hide from us… not for long. Wherever Saren goes, we'll follow, wherever he searches for the Conduit, we'll be there, we will hunt him to the very ends of the Galaxy, and bring him down! We **MUST NOT** fail, we **CANNOT** fail! This is the most important mission that any of us have ever been on, myself included." Neira stopped to gather her breath and thoughts before continuing.

Ashley, Kaiden, Wrex, Garrus, and Tali gathered in front of the Galaxy Map facing the bridge. The five looked at each other, then looked up to the Commander. "We **will** stop Saren, no matter the cost. Let me reiterate- some of you know when _**I**_ say no matter the cost, I bloody well mean that- just look up Torfan." Shepard ended her speech killing the intercom.

Joker looked up at Shepard. "Well said Commander, a bit dark, but we all know what's at stake. The Captain would be proud."

"The Captain's not here, I'm in charge, Joker, and time's wasting, get this bird in the air."

Joker swallowed, he knew Shepard was a hard woman, and he's just getting a taste of just how hard she can be. Especially if she just dismissed the Captain like that, as he knew how much Shepard respected the man.

Neira turned from Joker walking with a swagger away from the bridge. Seeing the others gathered she stopped before them. "By the time we're done, Saren will be nothing but a foot note in history." She pointed to Ash. "Follow me, something we need to take care of." Neira then headed for the Comm room. She led Ash inside and pointed for where she was to remain. "You're not going to like what I'm going to do but just bare with me." Ashley just nodded.

Neira punched in a comm frequency and a hollow of her uncle Admiral Hackett appeared. "Congratulations Commander, or should I say SPECTER."

"Thank you Sir, but that's not why I'm calling."

"Oh?" Her uncle asked.

"Was it you?" Neira demanded.

Hackett gave his niece a questioning look, but knew by her tone that this could only be about one Ashley Williams. "By your tone, this call can only be about Gunnery Chief Williams, am I correct, Commander."

"Aye, Sir. Name's weren't given, only that it was due to only one of two very specific Admirals as to why she was removed from my unit. So, I ask again, was it you?"

Hackett sighed. "I admit, I don't like the girl, she's a Williams…" He could see the rage building in his niece's face. "But. I'm fully aware of how she's the only person that can keep that temper of yours in check. That being said, if I had my way, like the woman or not, she'd be permanently joined at the hip with you."

"That means it was mother…" Neira hissed under her breath.

"That would be a safe bet, but you didn't hear that from me. Understood?"

"Aye, Admiral, Sir."

She then killed the feed. "Come here Ash, stay just out of holo range." Ashley looked down at the floor and slowly advanced.

Neira then dialed the feed to her mother, Admiral Hannah Hackett-Shepard. Hannah looked up from her desk to see her daughter in the holo and her face lit up. "Congrat…"

"Stow it **mother!** " Neira interrupted her mother. "I now know that _**you're**_ the one responsible."

Hannah Shepard straightened out her jacket and narrowed her eyes at her daughter. "I'm responsible for what exactly?"

Neira reached out and pulled Ashley into view of the holo-call. "What the hell is she doing there!?" Hannah demanded.

Neira turned to face Ashley, I'd say that's confirmation, wouldn't you?"

"P—please leave me out of this Neira." Ashley nervously pleaded.

Neira then turned and slammed her hands down on the table leaning into the holo. "How dare you separate us!"

"How dare I, **HOW DARE I!?** If it wasn't for that WILLIAMS, I'd still have two daughters!"

Hearing this caused Neira to instantly flare into not just a red corona, but her blood red corona. Ash quickly jumped in front of Neira putting her hands on her shoulders and stared into what were now glowing red eyes.

"Calm yourself Red, you won't do anyone any good this way… not me, not you, not the ship, and not the crew…" Ashley cooed in a soft soothing voice.

Although safe from her daughter, Hannah backed away from the holotransmitter. "Admiral Shepard." Ashley began still using her soothing voice to calm Neira down. "I have a question for you. Would you have done this if it was someone else other than me, that Sie sacrificed herself for?"

"Absolutely not, unless it was another Williams."

Ashley spun her head to the holo, but before she could say anything Neira not meaning to, shoved Ashley into a wall with a Biotic Push. Her eyes glaring at her mother. Hannah swallowed hard. She knew how much both of her daughters cared about Ashley, but to see Neira strike her like that, Hannah now knew the extent of her daughter's rage. Neira balled both of her hands into tight fists and her body shuddered with rage. Neira closed her eyes, when she opened them again her Biotic Corona was gone, but Hannah could still see the rage in her daughter's eyes.

"Mother… that day on Torfan, you didn't just lose _a_ daughter. I am now dead to you as well. If I ever get married, you will not be welcomed to the ceremony, if I ever have kids, you will never see them, for they won't have a maternal grandmother. Father agreed to what her grandfather did during the First Contact War, it was the right thing to do. Once I disconnect, your holo-frequency will be blocked. I no longer have a mother." At that Neira cut the call, and true to her word blocked her mother from all future holo-transmissions.

When the call ended, Hannah Shepard dropped to the ground in tears.

Ashley picked herself up off the ground and walked over to her long-time friend. "Are you sure about this Red?"

Neira turned to Ashley and pulled her into her and into a big embrace. "Yes, Ash. You are all the family I need. I know I can trust you to keep me in line. I need you Ash, and I remember the promise you made to Sie."

Ash wrapped her arms around Neira and stroked her hair gently. She closed her eyes and remembered the final moments of Sierra Sheppard's life, and the promise that she'd always be there if Neira ever needed her. With what they're facing now, Neira is going to need her more now than ever.

 **Please rate & review**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: I don't own Mass Effect**

 **After doing some extensive research, I came up empty on the name of Admiral Hackett's ship's name. On a few forums, they said that his ship's name was never mentioned, so I'm taking the liberty to use the SSV Fuji, an Everest-class Dreadnaught for his ship as it was one of the ships that did participate in the Battle of the Citadel.**

 **Chapter 8**

 **SSV Fuji – Everest-Class Dreadnaught**

 **Orbit of Arcturus Station**

"Sir, you have an incoming transmission from Amiral Shepard." The Comm officer informed the fifth Fleet's Commander. 

Hackett was going over the fifth fleet's logistics on his datapad and set it down and activated his holoterminal. The blue haze of a holo transmission made minute details near impossible, but what Hackett saw concerned him. The holo image was of his sister Hannah Shepard, mother of the first Human SPECTER. The reason for his concern, was that Hannah's hair was disheveled and there was an empty whiskey bottle laying on its side. He could see multiple darkened lines streaking down from his sister indicating running mascara from crying. 

"Hannah, what's wrong? This isn't like you." 

"I- I've lost her…" *hiccup* 

"Are you… drunk?" 

"Maybe a little Sleevie." Hannah replied with a slurred speech. 

Steven Hackett ran a hand down his face. "Talk to me sis, what's going on?" 

"I told you sleeve- I lost her." She sobbed. 

"Lost who? You aren't making any sense." 

Hannah looked up, her lips were trembling. "My baby- She, she disowned me..." 

Hackett leaned back in his chair. "I'll admit, Neira can be a hard case at times, but we're all the family she has left." 

"She shaid that if she ever gets married, I'm not invited, that if she ever hash kids, they'll NEVER know their grandmother!" Hannah yelled back with a slur in her speech.

Hackett put his hand to his chin and thought about what his sister was saying and sighed. "This has something to do with Gunnery Chief Williams, doesn't it?" 

Hanna looked up at the holo transmitter again and narrowed her eyes. "It hash evthing 'ta do wit it!" She shot back angrily and slurred.

Hackett could see the image of his sister reach down to a lower drawer of her desk and she produced another bottle and took a long swig that would make a Marine proud. "Shum hows she found out I pulled shrings 'ta have that traitor's offspring sheperated from her unit, and even blocked from being ashined to Andershun." She replied followed by a loud belch. 

Hackett slapped his palm to his forehead and slowly ran his hand down his face. "Tell me that you really didn't do that?" 

Hannah nodded. "If it washn't for her, I'd shill have two daughters." 

Hackett covered his face with a hand and shook his head in exasperation. "Please tell me, you don't honestly believe that." 

"Ish true, Shierra would shill be here if not for her..." 

"HANNAH ELIZABETH HACKETT-SHEPARD!" The Admiral boomed at his younger sister. "Your daughters are Marines! Marines look out for each other. You go and ask any Marine, and they will tell you, that they'll put their life on the line to save any fellow Marine whenever they can! You should be ashamed of yourself." 

Hannah's eyes went wide at the way her brother yelled and chastised her like a child that got into trouble. "I thought you'd be on my shide aboutsh 'ish Sleevie. You don't like that girl either." 

Steven Hackett looked long and hard into his transmitter to his sister. "Yes, I may not like her, but I, like you am a professional and a high ranking officer in the Alliance Navy. We have to put our personal feelings aside. Yes, I don't like her, but I do respect her skills. No one can deny her skill. She is bar none the best sniper we have. As far as Williams and Neira are concerned, you made a huge mistake separating her. She's the only person that can reel her in when Neira loses control. You damn well know that's been the case since they were kids..." 

Feeling betrayed that her brother didn't take her side on this matter, Hannah slammed her hand down on the controls disconnecting the feed, she the stood up and stormed away from her desk. The world began to spin around Hannah making her dizzy. She took a couple staggering steps forward before falling forward hitting the ground just a few feet from her bedroom. 

When Hannah opened her eyes, she was slightly disorientated as she found herself standing in nothing but stark white with haze, to compound matters, she realized she was dressed in her Navy dress whites minus her cover. 

"Wha- where am I?" Hannah questioned then surprise hit her as she suddenly realized she was completely sober. She began walking forward and stopped when she noticed a silhouette forming in front of her to her right and to her left. She stopped and squinted trying to make them out through the swirling white haze. 

The two forms moved forward slightly through the haze, their forms slowly taking shape. Hannah good ascertain that the form to her left was a tall male, and the form on the right was a shorter female compared to the male. 

As more details became clearer on the forms, she noticed they were both wearing Marine dress blues. She could now see both forms perfectly except for their faces as the haze clung around their heads. "who or what are you?" 

"You must choose which to follow." The forms spoke in perfect unison albeit their voices were distorted disguising their true voices. 

"How am I supposed to choose when I don't even know who you are, or more importantly where I am." Hannah questioned. 

"The where is easy, we're in your subconscious mind while you lay on the floor in a drunken stupor." The voices stated. "As far as who we are..." The haze around the forms faded revealing Christopher and Sierra, her deceased husband and daughter. 

Hannah gasped and fell to her knees. "H- how is this possible..." 

"The how isn't what's important, it's the why." They responded still in unison, but their voices no longer distorted. "You made a dire decision, and it cost you everything. We're hear to try and help with damage control, but you will have to choose which one of us you will accept the help from." 

Hannah blinked in disbelief. "H- how am I supposed to choose between the two of you?" 

"That's something we can't answer, that's something you have to choose yourself." They responded. 

"Whatever help you are offering, does it make a difference on who I choose? Can you at least answer that?" She asked. 

"Yes, that we can, no matter who you choose the help offered will be the same." 

"C-can I hug you both first? I've missed you both deeply." 

"No, we're here to help with damage control only, we're both very disappointed and ashamed of you." They stated. 

"But why? What did I do?" 

"Two words … Ashley Williams." 

"What about that traitor's granddaughter?" 

Sierra turned and started walking off. "Where are you going Sie?" Hannah called out. 

"This is pointless, Neira was right- I don't have a mother anymore." At that her image faded from existence. Hannah gaped in shock, only to suddenly feel a hard slap across her face. She realized that it was her husband that slapped her. 

Hannah put her hand to her still stinging cheek and just looked at her husband slack jawed. "What was that for?" 

"Do you really have to ask that?" He asked crossed at his wife. "Follow me Hannah." Christopher said anger heard in his voice as he walked off. 

Hannah followed in silence. The swirling white mists that surrounded them started to take shape and color around them as they walked. Once the mists had fully dissipated, they stood amongst a Turian fleet over a planet. 

"Where are we?" Hannah asked. 

"This is the battle of Shanxi, I brought you here so that you can see first hand what transpired here." Christopher explained. 

Hannah watched in silence, her eyes narrowing when she watched as the Turian ships bombarded the planet below. With a wave of his hand Christopher and Hannah plummeted to the surface below. Hannah clenched her eyes tight and when she reopened them they were on the surface. The first thing she noticed was the city they appeared in was a bombed out husk. "What happened?" Asked Hannah. 

"The Turians happened. Once they managed to occupy the planet, a small squad of Marines led by General Williams took to guerrilla warfare. Once the Turians had enough, they ordered their ships to indiscriminately bombard the cities just to take out one squad of troops. This is what prompted General Williams to surrender. The Turians were slaughtering entire cities, by surrendering General Williams saved countless civilian lives." He turned to face his wife. "Did you know that after this until his death he had fallen into a deep depression and suffered from acute PTSD? He often wondered if he surrendered sooner how many more lives could've been saved. This ate at him for years. We as humans are a highly evolved people, and yet you insist on visiting the sins of the father onto their children… we don't put the blame of a murder's crimes on their children, so why you put blame on Ashley I can't fathom." 

Hannah watched the bombings solemnly for a few minutes before hanging her head in shame. "I- I had no idea…" 

"That's a lie Hannah. He explained this in his trial." 

"I- we all thought he was just trying to make an excuse." 

Christopher shook his head in disbelief. "No, you all didn't want to see the truth. Do you think calling for surrender was easy for the man? Do you think he wanted to be known as the only Human to surrender to an Alien?" 

Hannah opened her mouth to argue, but closed her mouth and cast her gaze downward silently. "Good, now back to the case of Ashley..." Christopher watched his wife who still looked downward who noticed the world around her became the shifting white mists only to be replaced with a cave network. 

"Where are we now?" Hannah asked softly. 

"Torfan..." Christopher simply answered. 

Hannah could see her daughters and Ashley a little ahead of the rest of their squad. Sierra was a little behind and to the left of Neira, while Ashley was a little behind and to the right. The three moved in unison like a well oiled machine. The three ran and ducked behind a natural rock barricade in the middle of the passage. Neira looked around and noticed a smaller barricade on either side. The one on her right was barely big enough to provide cover for two people, while the one on her left could only provide cover for one. 

Neira shifted and looked over at her squad as she formulated a plan of attack. She finally pointed at two soldiers and pointed the right and the soldiers nodded and rushed forward. She then looked at the remaining members of her squad and pointed at another soldier motioning for him to advance to the smaller barricade. 

While Neira was giving her silent commands, Ashley and Sierra kept an eye on the passage. As the solo soldier was making their way to their new position, a grenade was tossed. Ashley being a sniper had a keener eye, and bolted from her position and tackled the Marine covering him as the grenade detonated. 

"ASH!" Neira and Sierra yelled out simultaneously. 

"Don't worry, I'm fine." She then looked down at the Marine she tackled. "What's wrong with you? You have to be observant." 

"I- I'm sorry Corporal, I just got transferred here. I'm fresh out of boot." He tried to explain. 

Ashley grabbed the Marine by his collar and pulled him closer. "You are a damned Marine there's no excuse!" She chastised the green Private. 

Sierra elbowed Neira. "I think you're rubbing off on her." The sisters shared a quiet chuckle. 

"Get your act together Marine, or this god-forsaken moon _will_ end up being your tomb, we understood?" 

"Crystal, Corporal!" 

"Good." Ashley then made her way back to the sisters. 

"We'll make a commander out of you yet Ash..." Neira laughed. 

"Oh hush Red. So what's the plan? We've already lost three squads getting this deep. Those six-eyed bastards are really entrenched and fortified." 

Neira activated her Omnitool and looked at the readout. "Yeah, there's only six of us left of the four squads we sent in, and if these readings are accurate there's at least a full Platoon and a half of them left in this network." 

"RPG!" the remaining soldier who was left to cover their rear yelled out. 

The girls flattened themselves on the ground just as the rocket impacted with the stalagmites that made up their cover. "Everyone all right over there?" One of the soldiers on the right called. 

"Aye, just a little shaken." Neira responded after checking Sierra and Ashley. Neira popped up and nailed the Batarian with one of her unique Biotic Blasts. The impact made contact with his barrier, but the impact knocked him off his feet and onto his back, however there was a small stalagmite right there and it impaled the Batarian through the back of its head with the tip emerging just inches out of its mouth.

"Nice shot sis." Sierra complimented. 

Neira just smiled. "There's three more stalagmite barricade-like formations about forty meters up, only big enough for one each. I'll take the left, Sie, you take middle and Ash, take left." At that the three stormed to their new positions and slid to avoid incoming rifle fire. "Anyone hit?" 

"Negative." Ash and Sierra responded at the same time. 

"Grenades on three. One… two… three…" At that the three each lobbed a high explosive grenade. The grenades caused a slight tremor as they detonated. 

Sie heard a beep from her Omnitool and looked down at it. "Shit." She breathed. 

"What's wrong?" Ashley asked. 

"We got lucky, let's not do that again. I'm reading canisters of highly explosive chemicals down some of the side tunnels." 

"Roger that." Neira responded. 

Ashley popped up and quickly fired off a round at a Batarian Engineer dropping him as he was setting up a turret. Knowing that Ashley was a very methodical sniper, Neira looked over at her friend. "What happened?" 

"Nothing, just took out an engineer that was slow to set up what looked like a portable turret." 

"What? Those bastards must've stole our plans… remember Elysium?" 

"How can we forget?" Sierra chimed." 

Ashley flattened herself on the ground and did a combat crawl up more to another small stalagmite formation where she could get a better view down the passage as it was near a bend. "Careful Ash." Neira cautioned. 

Neira was reviewing her Omnitool for their reserves and formulating a plan of action. She could hear the occasional silent shots from Ashley's sniper rifle. 

Neira heard Ashley's name screamed and out of the corner of her eye she saw Sierra bolt from cover. She turned her head to see Ashley fighting with a jam while Sierra's Biotic Barrier flared to life. Ashley turned to see Sierra charging her but just as her friend got to her, not even time for Sierra to tackle. A sniper shot echoed through the passage. The round pierced through Sierra's barrier and armor as if it wasn't even there spraying Ashley's face in red. 

Sierra's eyes went wide as she dropped. Neira slowly turned her head down the tunnel. Her body erupted in a blue corona which started to darken and took on a blood red hue. Neira charged halfway down the tunnel. The incoming rounds seemed to be coming at her at an increased state of slow-motion as she activated one of her rare biotic abilities dubbed _Adrenaline_ Rush, making it rather easy for her to dodge as time seemed to slow down around her. She slammed her hands together releasing a wave of crimson biotic energy that tore down the tunnel almost like a fiery explosion in a tight confining shaft. 

She then ran to her sister and Ashley. Neira saw Sierra's hand upon Ashley's cheek. "Ash. Promise me- promise me no matter what happens between the two of you, if Neira ever needs you, that you will always be there for her. You know how she can get, and that you are the _ONLY_ person that has ever been able to calm her rage. You may not know this, but she truly loves you- more than a friend and a sister." 

Tears were streaming down Ashley's blood splattered face. "I- I promise. I promise I will always be there if she ever needs me." 

Neira came sliding in on her knees just as Sierra's hand slid limply from Ashley's face. "N- No, No don't do this Sie…" Sierra's head turned to face Neira. A small smile came across her lips before her eyes closed and her chest rose and fell one last time. **"SIERRA!"** Neira cried out. 

After a couple minutes of grieving. Neira got to her feet. "Ash. Take my sister's body, and evacuate the tunnels with what's left of the squad." 

"What about you?" 

No Batarian will be left in here alive, I'll be along shortly." Neira turned and her body erupted in that blood red corona and started back down the tunnel. A cruel grin crept upon her lips as she passed the charred remains of the dead Batarians that were caught in her first _Infernal Blast_ as she will later name her new rage induced power. 

As she rounded the corner she noticed several narrow passages. Neira pulled up her Omni-tool and searched for bio signatures. The Omni-tool only registered signatures down the main passage and the four small passages. After a few more various scans, her Omni-tool beeped alerting her that down two of the side passages were the stockpiles of highly volatile explosive gas that Sierra mentioned. 

Neira closed her eyes and did some mathematical calculations in her head. _Let's see, the stockpiles are down the first passage on the left and the second passage on the right. If I send another_ _of my..._ _infernal blasts…_ _yeah, I like the sound of that. Infernal Blast-_ She grinned before continuing on her stratagem. 

_If I send another Infernal Blast_ _down the center at half power. There would be enough back blast to go down all four passages and igniting the canisters. Having half my biotic power left concentrating half of that on my barrier and the other half on a Biotic Charge, I should be able to make_ _it_ _back out before the whole place collapses around me…_

Neira took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She stepped out into the main passage concentrating half of her red corona into her infernal blast, then erected her barrier, finally sprinting out with the aid of her Biotic Charge. Neira could feel the heat from the explosion behind her as she charged trying to dodge the debris of the collapsing tunnel. 

Ashley and the remaining third of the squad watched in horror as they heard the explosions from underground and watched with mouths agape as fire, dust, and smoke belched out of the mouth of the tunnel network. 

"N- no- this isn't happening. **NEIRA!** " Ashley cried out as some of the soldiers were holding her back. 

"There's movement in the smoke, get ready in case it's any escaping Batarians." Someone cried out. The remaining soldiers all got into firing positions _._

The movement in the smoke began to take on a humanoid shape eventually emerging in the form of a familiar black N7 armor with red accents slowly walked forth seemingly in slow motion. The soldiers lowered their weapons and Ashley ran to her friend hugging her thankful that she survived. 

"I- I thought I lost you too." She cried in Neira's embrace. 

"Ash, it's me you're talking about." Neira chuckled. "My Biotics can rival that of the strongest of Asari Commandos, possibly even a Matriarch." 

"You're still only Human Neira, and as such as much as you don't want to believe it. You're not infallible." 

"Neira sighed. "You're right, and I'm sorry I worried you, but I had to take out those bastards for killing Sie-" 

"I- I know, she was my friend too. More than a friend, like you, she was my sister." 

Neira cupped the sides of Ashley's helmet and stared into her reddened chestnut brown eyes. "I know Ash, but I couldn't lose you too." Neira explained softly. 

"Now you see Hannah, what transpired. Any Marine would've done the same thing, just as you saw Ashley saved a young Private." 

Hannah wrapped her arms around herself and hung her head low. 

"And how are you going to do damage control?" 

"Step one is a heartfelt and meaningful apology to not only me, but Sierra as well." 

"How am I supposed to apologize to Sierra if I don't know where she is? She doesn't even want to speak to me." 

"Oh, so now you're speaking for me as well now?" Sierra's voice could be heard. "I've been here the whole time, I just dispersed my image so I could observe unseen. We agreed that whichever you chose, the other would still be here observing unseen and unheard." Sierra's image rematerialized. 

Hannah turned to look at her daughter. Sierra could see the tear lines from where Hannah was crying as she witnessed the last moments of her life. 

"Sierra… my dearest daughter, can you ever find it to forgive a selfish and foolish woman. I was angry and grief-stricken, and took it out on Ashley Williams. I know it wasn't fair of me." 

Sierra crossed her arms across her chest and stared at her mother in disbelief. "I'm not buying it. I feel as you're just saying what you think I want to hear." 

"That's not true." Hannah argued. 

"Oh really? How about the way you've treated her since we were kids? Always putting what her grandfather did unjustly onto her? She was just a child when it happened." Sierra agitatedly pointed out. 

"You- you're right, and I'm sorry. I should've been bigger than that. I know that she wasn't responsible I just have had a hard time accepting a Williams. I honestly want to try and make amends. I now see what my actions cost me, and I can't bare to not be a part of your sister's life." 

"And what of Ashley? She is a major part of Neira's life?" Christopher asked. 

"I want to make amends to her as well. I- I know I was wrong, and yes I'll admit that I knew she is the only one that can reel in Neira's aggression. I just had a hard time accepting her, but now that I know the whole truth, I want to try and be there and be supportive not to just Neira, but supportive of Ashley as well." 

"How well do you think you know Neira?" Sierra asked. 

"She's my daughter, I should think I know her pretty well. Why do you…" Hannah stopped and thought about the question. "Yes, I've known that she is bi-sexual, with strong lesbian tendencies. I've known this for years, and have never opposed this fact. I may not have brought the subject up, but I remained quiet about it. And yes, if she so chooses I will support her if she chooses to become romantically involved with Ashley." 

Sierra now being a spirit could read her mother's truths and deceptions and knew she was telling the truth. At this, she walked up to her mother and hugged her. Christopher joined in the hug. Hannah closed her eyes and enjoyed the hug. When she reopened her eyes, she found herself laying on the floor where she collapsed. 

Hannah quickly clambered to her feet and took a long hot shower. When she finished, she got dressed in her full Dress Whites, grabbed a cup of coffee, and took a shuttle from Arcturus Station to her brother's ship. "Sir, Admiral Shepard is here to see you." Steven Hackett's secretary informed the Admiral. 

Hackett looked up and blinked dumbfounded at the comm not expecting to be visited by his sister, especially not with the condition she was in just a few short hours ago. "Send her in." 

"You can go in Admiral." The secretary informed Hannah. 

"Thank you, Linda." Hannah responded with a smile, then walked into her brother's office. 

Steven Hackett looked up from his desk with mild shock seeing how his sister presented herself, one would never of known she was drunk off her ass just a little while ago. 

"What brings you here Hannah?" Steven asked with a slight raise of his brow. 

"I need your help Stevie- help on a… personal level." 

Steven leaned forward putting his elbows on his desk, locked his fingers together, and rested his chin on his knuckles as he looked at his younger sister. "And just what is it that you need my help with?" 

Hannah walked over to the desk and sat down setting her cover on Steven's desk. "What I need your help with is setting up and mediating a meeting between me, Neira, and Ashley." 

Steven leaned back and balked at Hannah's response. "What? You think she'd come and talk, she's out on Spectre business." 

"She's also an Alliance Commander flying an Alliance ship. They have to respond." Hannah pointed out. 

"Steven sighed. "Will you tell me what this is about at least?" 

"When they get here so I don't have to repeat it." 

"Fine." Steven sighed again with exasperation, he then dialed up the Normandy." 

* * *

**SSV Normandy**

"Commander, Admiral Hackett is calling for you." Joker called over the Comm. 

"I'll take it in my office." Neira replied from her quarters. She then left her quarters from rearranging things and took the lift down to the main level stopping in mess to grab a cup of coffee. As she entered the mess, she spotted Ashley talking with Alenko. 

"Ash, come with me to my office, I want to talk with you after this call." 

"Sure thing, Red." 

The two women walked to Neira's office together, with Ashley sitting in one of the chairs facing Neira's desk. Neira sat down at her desk and activated the holocall. "Yes Admiral, what can I do for you?" 

"Greetings Commander, I won't beat around the bush here, I need you to head to Arcturus Station and meet up with me. I need to discuss something with you face to face." 

"Sorry, Admiral. I can't comply, I'm on SPECTER business." 

The image of Admiral Hackett pinched the bridge of his nose. "Yes, you maybe a SPECTER now, but don't forget you are still a Commander in the Systems Alliance, and captaining a Systems Alliance ship, as such you will still be given Alliance missions that you ARE to accept. Am I Understood Shepard?" 

Neira sighed realizing this wasn't a social call, and the point was fully made aware that yes the SPECTERs maybe above the rank and file, but she was still a Marine, and as such still had her responsibilities to the Alliance. "Joker, change course to Arcturus Station, and dock with the SSV Fuji." She called out over the comm. "Be there soon Admiral, unless there's something else." 

"Not at this time Shepard… Oh, there is one more thing. Bring Operations Chief Williams with you, I need her here as well just to be sure that if needed, there's someone to reel you in… God only knows why she's the only one that can do that..." Hackett laughed. "Hackett out." 

Ashley blushed slightly. "Well, sounds like he's starting to accept me at least." 

Neira shook her head. "No, he hasn't officially accepted you, but at least he respects your value as a Systems Alliance Marine." She then leaned back tilting her head back and stared at the ceiling and sighed heavily. "First Human SPECTER, but still a lot of strings attached…" 

"Could be worse, could be on a garbage scowl to gallivant around the galaxy to do SPECTER business in." Ashley chuckled. Neira just looked at Ashley then joined in the laugh. Neira pushed away from her desk and walked to the center of the room hanging her head. Ashley got up and stood in front of her friend concerned. "What's wrong Red?" 

Neira surprised Ashley by throwing herself onto the Operations Chief with a big hug. "I- I'm so- so sorry Ash, please forgive me. I never meant to hurt you like that." Neira uncharacteristically quivered softly. 

"What are you talking about?" 

"During the holo with my mo… With Admiral Hannah Shepard… I- I struck you Bioticaly." Neira apologized softly. 

Ashley hugged her friend tightly. "Oh, don't worry about it, I understand your anger at her was all consuming." 

"That's no excuse, how many times have you calmed me down when I was enraged, and never lashed out at you?" 

Ashley pulled away and cupped her hands to Neira's face. "Look at me Red, I forgive you, really. Don't beat yourself up over it, I'm here for you and always will be." 

"You promise?" Neira asked softly. 

"I made a solemn vow to Sie that I will always be there for you whenever you need me, even if we ever have a falling out, and now I'm making that promise to you. Neira Shepard, I vow to always be there for you whenever you need me, this I promise to you with every fiber of my being." 

Neira smiled and hugged Ashley again. "Thank you Ash, I always need you. You're my conscience. I know I'm not the easiest person to get along with, especially for my crew, and I know I'm definitely going to need you to take down that Turian Bastard."

 **A/N: Sorry guys for the long delay, had a major case of writer's block. I went back over each of the previous chapters and noticed a lot of typos, so am in the process of editing those. I have sent out many PMs to authors listed as Betas, but not a single response in the 2 weeks or so since trying to contact any of them. If any of you are willing to Beta, what I'm primarily looking for in a Beta is someone strong in spelling (my writing program's spellchecker isn't very precise, hell it doesn't even recognize the word 'teleport'...lol also need someone strong in grammar, punctuation, and word play, and possibly ways to make scenes a little more smooth and fluid.**

 **I do have an issue in my on site editing, shift & enter is supposed to give single line breaks, but it's not doing that, I've tried both left shift and right shift with enter, but it doesn't give the line breaks. Also when I try and move headers to center page, when the chapters publish, they get moved back to the left side of the screen**

 **As always Rate and Review**


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: I don't own Mass Effect. A few nights before starting this chapter, in a dream I was hit with inspiration for an OC party member. The following day I fleshed out what I remembered from the dream. So this chapter is bringing her in and she has a slight history with Sierra Shepard of sorts… that will be covered in this chapter as well.**

 **Sorry about the long delay but between my depression, writer's block, and RL I had trouble writing. If I was lucky I could get maybe 1 paragraph at a time, then there was my editing and rewrites. I'm still desperately looking for a beta for this story.**

 **CHAPTER 9**

"Commander, we're entering Arcturus Station space now." Joker informed Shepard over the comm.

"Roger that Joker. Ash, meet me at the airlock."

Ashley was discussing requisitions with the Normandy's Requisition Officer when Neira called for her. "Roger that, on my way." She looked back to the Requisitions Officer. "Sorry, we'll have to pick this up later."

"No problem, Chief."

"SSV Fuji, this is the SSV Normandy requesting docking clearance." Joker radioed the Fuji.

"This is the SSV Fuji, clearance granted Normandy."

Joker nodded and started the docking procedures. The Normandy dropped impulse and switched to maneuvering thrusters as the pilot expertly navigated to the Fuji's exterior and to the ship to ship airlock.

Ashley Williams had made her way to the airlock just as the Normandy locked on and the protective docking tube latched on creating an airtight seal.

"Any idea what this is about, Red? Considering Alenko is your XO, and not me."

Neira shrugged. "'Dunno, but better be fast, we have investigations to attend to." Ashley just nodded.

The two women disembarked from the Normandy to be met by a corporal wearing an MP armband who was standing by at attention and saluted Shepard. Neira returned the salute. "As you were, corporal."

The corporal dropped her salute and took a more casual stance. "Is there a problem corporal?" Ashley asked with her eyes focused on the armband.

"None, ma'am. I- I'm some what of a fan of yours… both of yours, so with this knowledge, I was appointed as your escort."

Both Neira and Ashley raised a brow at the same time. "A fan?" They asked simultaneously. The two turned to face each other and laughed.

"Aye, ma'ams. I was at Elysium when I was younger during the blitz, and I've read about Torfan, and the campaign against the pirates. Your exploits are legendary. Not to mention around the Academy, your squad's records to this date haven't even come close to being touched." The corporal eagerly responded.

Neira bit her lip and fought to keep her motions in check. Ashley noticed this. "Corporal, do us all a favor and not bring that up please. Any mention of _our_ sister tends to get the Commander in a rage."

The corporal quickly covered her mouth. "Oh, gomen… er… I'm so sorry… Commander. I knew about that and yet…" She trailed off casting her gaze to the ground.

Neira put a hand upon the young corporal's shoulder. "Don't worry about it." Neira stopped and looked at the girl's uniform. "Corporal Tagawa. I understand your enthusiasm, but try to to remember important details in the future."

"Hey Corporal, I noticed you stop and pause when talking, may I ask why?" Ashley asked.

"H… I mean yes ma'am. You see, I was born and raised in Naze, Japan. And even though I'm in the Alliance now, I instinctively want to use my native Japanese. For instance, I keep wanting to say hai, instead of yes, and tack on honorifics, small things of that nature." She explained.

"I see, and what's your specialty?"

"I'm a hand to hand and CQC expert, as well as being an L-3 Biotic. I'm an unusual Biotic, my abilities mainly enhance my fighting, senses, and awareness," She started saying proudly before looking down. The look on her face showed that of shame.

"What's the matter Corporal?" Neira asked this time.

"I- I was so excited to meet you, I forgot about one thing and feel ashamed. You see, since your time in the academy, only one category was touched. I tied your hand to hand accomplishments. All the instructors were surprised to say the least." She explained softly.

Neira smiled at the girl. "No reason to be ashamed, records are meant to be broken." She laughed.

This cheered up the young corporal who smiled and nodded vigorously.

Ashley and Neira looked at each other both with that look in their eyes that they were thinking the same exact thing. "What do you think Ash?"

"I fully agree."

Corporal Tagawa looked back and forth between the two in confusion."

Neira smirked when she saw the look on the corporal's face. "I…" Neira motioned between Ashley and herself. "We like you Corporal, as such. How would you like it if I tried to get you reassigned to the Normandy? Keep in mind, we're currently on an extremely dangerous mission that can cost lives, and we have some alien allies aboard as well."

The corporal's eyes went wide. "Y- you serious?" You want me?!" She gasped. "Yes!" The girl jumped with glee before composing herself which elicited a giggle from Neira and Ashley. I- I mean, yes ma'am, it'd be an honor and privilege to serve with you." She exclaimed ecstatically.

"You're not afraid or concerned with the Commander's reputation?"

Tagawa shook her head. "Everything I've read and heard said that… Commander Shepard was a hard woman to serve under, but try and be raised in a family whose lineage goes back to not only Japan's Feudal Era, but is also an old Samurai family. Yes I know she's a hard woman to serve under, but I've also heard she maybe reckless, but she tries to save the lives of her troops, and any that do happen to fall she keeps one of their dog tags so that she will never forget the fallen."

Neira rubbed her chin as she listened to the girl. "I'm sold. I have _some_ pull with Admiral Hackett, I'll see what I can do. Speaking of which, I think we better get to his office- oh, and if you want, feel free to speak Japanese around me, I'm fluent."

"Hai, Taichou!" (Commanding Officer/Commander)The corporal happily responded.

The trio finally arrived to Admiral Hackett's office. The secretary stood up snapping to attention and saluted Neira. Neira returned the salute. "As you were." Neira then put her attention to their escort. "Wait here." The corporal nodded.

Neira knocked once and the two women walked into Hackett's office. Hackett looked up and smiled. "And how's my favorite niece and Chief Williams today?"

"Alright, what are you up to? You never greet me like that, let alone being cordial to Ashley."

"We need to talk Neira."

"More precisely _we_ that's the three of us need to talk…" Hannah's voice carried as she walked in from another door.

Neira was about to storm out when Ashley grabbed her and cupped a hand to Neira's ear and whispered. A smirk came across Neira's face. She ignored her mother and stared at her uncle. "So, I take it you want me to be a good girl, sit, and listen to what _she_ has to say."

"Pretty much."

"Ok, fine, but there'll be a price for me to do just that and not just walk out."

This caused Steven Hackett to raise a brow questioningly. "Oh? And just what is this price?"

"It's actually something pretty small and insignificant." Neira threw a dour glance at her mother. "With all things considering. I want Corporal Tagawa to be transferred from the Fuji to the Normandy."

Hannah and Steven looked at each other, to Neira and Ashley who were both smiling, and back to each other. "And if I agree to this, you will sit and listen with an open mind? The both of you?"

Neira and Ashley looked at each other then smiled to both admirals. Steven hit his comm to his secretary. "Linda, start the transfer orders for Corporal Tagawa to be transferred to the Normandy effective immediately."

"She's waiting for us outside your office, have her go and pack." Ashley suggested.

"Did you catch that part Linda?"

"Sir, as soon as she heard that part, she ran out of here." The secretary reported which caused Neira and Ashley to laugh.

Neira took a deep breath and let it out slowly as she and Ashley sat down.

"Thank you." Steven said politely and motioned to his sister.

"Please let me say everything I have to say without interruptions." Neira and Ashley begrudgingly nodded. "First let me also say thank you for agreeing to stay and listen, even if it was due to a slight bribe. I want to apologize not just to you Neira." She then looked straight at Ashley. "And to you as well Ashley."

Hearing Hannah address her by first name made her raise a brow as not even when they were kids did Hannah ever once address Ashley by her first name.

"I want to apologize, ever since you were kids I've been harsh, inconsiderate, biased, prejudiced, and acted childish when it came to you Ashley. I put your grandfather's actions on not just you, but your whole family. It wasn't until just recently that I was literally shown my error in judgment."

Hannah turned to look at Neira. "After our call, and you disowned me, I couldn't handle it and took solace in a bottle and a half of gin. I know how this may sound, but when I passed out I found myself… I don't really have the words to describe it. There was nothing just pure white with white mist or fog that went up to my knees, now this is where things start to sound weird, I find it still hard to believe myself. Two forms started to materialize out of the mist, one was your father, Christopher, the other was Sierra."

Neira clenched the armrests and her eyes flashed red hearing her sister's name. Ashley patted her hand. "Shh… calm down, I want to hear this. Neira nodded and took a breath calming herself.

"Thank you Ashley." Hannah softly acknowledged Ashley calming down Neira. "Their _spirits_? If you want to call them that, I have no idea what they actually were, but they tried to explain my errors of judgment, but I wouldn't have any of it. that was until Chris slapped me across the face. Next thing I knew we were plummeting down through space. When we finally stopped we were high above Shanxi surrounded by the Turian fleet. Chris made me watch first hand what transpired which led to General Williams surrendering. The Turians orbital bombarded entire cities just to take out one squad of resistance fighters."

Hannah stopped and took a drink of water. "After explaining to me why I was wrong in my judgment of him, and seeing first hand I understood. With a wave of his hand everything went blurry and we were then in a cave. He explained to me that we were now on Torfan. I watched as Ashley saved the greenhorn private, and the way she yelled at him much the way you or your sister would do Neira. Then came…" Hannah stopped as tears rolled down her face. "Then came how Sierra died. I saw the whole thing, I heard the promise that she made you make Ashley, and saw what you did in the end Neira."

Hannah couldn't take it anymore and her emotions washed over her as she fell to her knees covering her face with both hands and cried. Ashley slowly stood up and walked over to Hannah and knelt down. She gently wrapped her arms around the older woman to comfort her. Hannah wrapped her arms around Ashley and cried into her shoulder. "I- I'm so- so- sorry, Ashley. Please forgive an old woman's foolishness." She cried.

Neira and Steven sat and watched as Ashley cradled Hannah's head and soothed her while she cried. Neira knew how Ashley believed in God, and she was right that there has to be some higher power out there creating the vast wonders and beauty the Galaxy had shown them. She wasn't sure what to think of the story about the spirits.

Neira closed her eyes and contemplated on her mother's story, that is until she saw a bright light trying to permeate through her closed eyes. Neira then opened her eyes and saw the spirits of her father and sister hovering over Hannah. She noticed that Steven was oblivious, but Ashley was staring right at Sierra.

"Only you can see me my baby girl, but you both can see Sierra." Her father's spirit stated softly.

Ashley turned her head to Neira. "You seeing what I'm seeing?"

Neira nodded and walked up to them. "Forgive mother Neira, I have." Sierra's spirit then faced so she was looking at both. "In time, your promise to me will be put to the test, your relationship with each other will become strained- this is just one of the many possible futures lying ahead of you. The future is always shifting, so your actions and decisions will always affect what can be."

Ashley nodded, then the spirits faded from existence. Neira knelt down beside Ashley. "Mother…"

Hannah slowly pulled away from Ashley and turned to face her daughter. Neira stood up and looked to her uncle with a hand held out. Steven realized what she was asking for and went into a drawer and pulled out a box of tissues. Neira took them and knelt back down and handed them to her mother who gladly accepted.

After taking a few minutes to dry her eyes and blow her nose, Hannah looked at the two girls before her. "Do- do you believe my story?"

Ashley and Neira looked at each other then back to Hannah. "Yes, we believe everything. The spirits and all. They manifested here. Father said only I could see him, but Sierra made it so we both could see her. She asked us to both forgive you, as she has forgiven you."

Hannah lurched forward giving a hug to both Neira and Ashley. Thank you… thank you both, you have no idea how much that means to me."

Steven sat back and listened to the exchange and cleared his throat. "I think I might be able to understand this, and I could easily see labeling one person claiming to see spirits, but for three- I know there has to be truth to the matter. After hearing my sister's story, let me also apologize to you Ashley Williams. I may have always respected your skills as a soldier, but never gave you as a person any respect." He reached into a drawer and pulled out a small box.

"This is long overdue." He walked over to where the three women were.

"On your feet Gunnery Chief Williams." Hackett began in his authoritative voice. Ashley complied and stood rigid. "There's been a long standing deadlock on something and I was to be the deciding factor. To this day I haven't been able to decide which way I was going to swing." He then presented the small flat box to Ashley and extended his hand to her.

Ashley took the box and shook Admiral Hackett's hand. "With this, I present you with a long and overdue recognition for your courageous actions that went above and beyond the call of duty both on Elysium and Torfan, I do give the final deciding vote in awarding you with the Star of Terra. Congratulations, Chief Williams."

Ashley stared at the box in her hand with mouth agape. Neira sarcastically rolled her eyes and grabbed the box, removed the ribbon and proudly pinned it to Ashley's chest.

"You two are dismissed, but please promise me you both will be safe," Hannah said with a smile.

"We will Admiral Shepard." Ashley stated with a smile.

Hannah smiled. "Pretty soon, I have a feeling you'll be just calling me Hannah, or possibly just _mom_."

Neira balked at her mother's comment. "Come on, I'm your mother. I've known for years that you were bi-sexual with a strong leaning towards women. I've also seen the way you look at Ashley. I may not have said anything, as it wasn't my place, but I have supported your lifestyle, and knew that one day the two of you will most likely get married."

"But, how's that possible the whole fraternization policy and all?" Ashley unknowingly blurted out then quickly covered her mouth and blushed.

Hannah and Steven laughed at Ashley's expense on that. "Firstly, the two of you have basically been joined together at the hip since you were kids, secondly did you forget Neira's now a SPECTER? You know the whole above and beyond shtick?" Steven added.

Ashley blushed slightly, and Neira just did a slight nod. "Anyways, we have a mission to get back to." At that Neira saluted her mother and uncle and abruptly left the office with Ashley saluting as well and left just as quickly.

 **SSV Fuji – Crew Quarters**

Corporal Reiko Tagawa was quickly packing her stuff in her Marine issued duffel bag. "What's going Reiko?" One of her bunk mates asked.

Reiko looked over her shoulder. "Oh, Jenna… my dream came true, I just got transferred to the SSV Normandy to serve under Commander Neira Shepard!" Reiko squealed excitedly.

This caused Jenna to frown. "I- I'm going to miss you Rei…" Jenna said somberly.

This caused Reiko to turn around to her friend. "Oh Jenna-chan, I thought you'd be happy for me. You know how much I've dreamed of this opportunity."

"I- I know Rei, but we entered the Junior Academy at the same time and have been together the whole time since."

"Jenna-chan, we'll still be friends, nothing will change that." Reiko walked over to her friend and gave her a hug. "Military personnel get shifted all the time, you know that.

"I know, I'm just really going to miss you, but hey I'm really happy for you. Just do me a favor, don't let anyone give you a hard time because of your height. You may only be five foot tall, but as the old cliché goes… _big things come in small packages._ " Jenna smiled.

"Hai. I promise."

"So, what's she like?"

"Well, I've only spoken to her briefly, but so far everything has been blown out of proportion. She's very nice. She even told me that I can feel free to speak Japanese, she noticed all my pauses and even told me she spoke Japanese fluently." The short corporal beamed.

"Well, good luck Rei, I'll be sure to follow the exploits of the Normandy from now on."

"Arigato Jenna-chan." Reiko went back and checked over everything one last time to make sure she wasn't forgetting anything. She then slung her bag over her shoulder and double timed it to where the Normandy was docked.

When Reiko arrived, Neira and Ashley were just standing by and talking. Ashley noticed Reiko running and nudged Neira who turned and smiled. Reiko not wanting to make a bad impression hit a small Biotic Charge to close the gap. Once she was three feet from Neira and Ashley, the girl dropped her bag, snapped to attention, and saluted. "Corporal Reiko Tagawa reporting as ordered Ma'am!"

Neira returned the salute. "Ash, take her bag, put her in…" Neira tapped her chin in thought. "I think we'll…"

"I'll move her into my room."

Reiko's eyes went wide. "Really Williams-san?"

Ashley chuckled at the girl's response. "You can just call me Ashley."

"Arigato, Ashley-san."

"While you're putting her stuff in the room, I'll give our newest member the tour." Neira commented. "Come on Reiko, let's go."

Reiko nodded emphatically.

Neira led the way onto the ship, and first led the new member to the bridge. "Joker, Alenko. I want to introduce you to our newest crew member." Neira placed a hand on the girl's shoulder and smiled. "This here is Corporal Reiko Tagawa. I have discovered she has to pause when speaking, as she instinctively uses Japanese, so I told her feel free to talk however feels natural for her, so don't be shocked when she starts to speak with some Japanese."

Joker raised a brow at the girl. "She's awfully short, isn't she?"

"Joker, you of all people shouldn't judge, with your condition and all, besides she tied all of my hand to hand accomplishments at the academy. She's a hand to hand and CQC specialist, and from reviewing her records, like me she has some unique Biotic abilities, nothing like mine but unique to herself. Even I can't do what she can do." Neira chuckled.

Alenko stood up and held out his hand to Reiko. "I'm the Commander's XO, Lieutenant Kaiden Alenko, welcome to the family Corporal.

Reiko extended her hand and shook Kaiden's. The look on his face was one of shock and surprise at the firmness of her grip, it felt like a vice to him.

"I'd be interested to see some of these unique Biotics of yours."

"I can show you two of them right now LT. They are easily activated without causing any harm."

This caused Joker to spin in his seat as his curiosity piqued at this. "First, I'll show you my unique Biotic Barrier, unlike the traditional one, I can actually make mine take shape and form."

Reiko took a breath and slammed her forearms together in front of her. Her body flashed blue and she was surrounded by a blue ethereal samurai style armor helmet and mask included.

All three went slack jawed at what they saw. The girl then slapped her hands together, and closed her right hand as if she was holding a sword and pulled her hands apart. As she did a Biotic Katana began manifesting in her right hand. Once it was finished manifesting, Reiko gripped the Biotic sword in both hands and took the traditional Kendo ready position. She then closed her eyes and dissipated the armor and sword.

She opened her eyes and saw all three were still slack jawed. "Umm is everything alright senpais?"

Joker shook his head. "Senpai?"

Neira turned to look at the pilot with a smile. "Senpai can have different meanings depending on the subtext, in this case Reiko's use of the word means senior… someone of a higher level or in our case rank then herself." Neira explained.

Hearing her explanation Reiko smiled and nodded. "Oh and Reiko, the Alien crew members- they aren't Alliance, so you can treat them as an equal, with you being Japanese and is natural for you to use the honorifics after their name, only one of them is young enough to use Chan. That would be Tali, our Quarrian. She's on her pilgrimage, or right of passage into adulthood."

"Understood Taichou."

Shepard led Reiko to the Command Deck, and walked up to Pressly. "Pressly."

The Navigation's Officer turned around. "Yes Commander?" Neira had informed the crew that it wasn't necessary to constantly salute each and every time she walks by. "I'd like to introduce you to our newest member. This here is Systems Alliance Corporal Reiko Tagawa, she's a hand to hand and CQC expert." She looked down at Reiko. "Reiko, this is our Navigation Officer Charles Pressly, he was on board one of the first ships to arrive during the Skyllian Blitz."

Pressly extended his hand. "Welcome aboard corporal."

"Arigato."

"I gave her permission to talk however feels natural, she was born and raised in Japan." Neira explained.

"Understood commander."

"Let's go meet the good doctor." Neira led Reiko to the med bay. When they entered, Chakwas was at her terminal inputting some information. "Doctor, I want to introduce you to our newest member to the crew. This here is Corporal Reiko Tagawa."

Doctor Chakwas turned around and smiled. "Greetings corporal, I just received your medical records and was reviewing them. When you have a chance, I want to give you a full check-up, according to your records, your last check-up was almost a year ago."

"After I finish giving her the tour, I'll send her to you doctor, give me a report afterward. I want to review everything on Jenkins' replacement."

"As you wish commander."

Shepard led Reiko to the elevator and down to engineering.

"Adams, I want to introduce you to the newest member of our crew, this here is Corporal Tagawa, corporal this is Chief Engineer Adams."

Adams held out his hand to the corporal who took his hand and shook it firmly. Adams rubbed his hand and looked at the diminutive girl in surprise. "Welcome corporal, gotta' say you have one hell of a grip there." Adams chuckled.

"Gomen-nasai, Adams-san." Reiko apologized.

"Oh, you're Japanese. No worries little lady." Adams smiled. He then turned to look at the commander. "By the way commander, you know that Quarrian, Tali… she's been spending a lot of time down here."

"Is she interfering with ship operations? I'll have a talk with her and make sure she stays out of your way."

"What?! Don't be ridiculous, she's absolutely amazing. I just wish half of my men were as smart as she is, give her maybe a month, and she'll probably know more about our engines then I do." He chuckled.

Adams spared another look at the corporal. "No offense, but you look awfully young corporal, young enough to still be in the academy."

"Good genes." Reiko laughed. "I know what you mean, I get carded a lot. I'm twenty-one, but been told by everyone that I still look around seventeen." Reiko looked at Shepard. "Umm, you might not remember, as it was seven years ago, but I actually fought with you… more precisely along side your…" Reiko stopped short of mentioning either Sierra's name or saying sister. "My family won an all expenses paid trip to Elysium, I was only fourteen, but like both of my parents before me, my Biotics manifested when I was young. I think I was around seven or so. My mother died during the assault, and my father died a year later due to complications."

Neira's eyes went wide. "Wait, are you… are you the young girl that Sierra told me saved her life with the strongest barrier she had ever seen?"

Reiko cast her eyes down and nodded slowly. "She was with my mother, but I chose to save your sister. At the time I could only shield one other person than myself. As much as I loved my mother, your sister was alliance, I felt the need to protect her over my own family." Reiko explained as tears threatened to well up in her eyes.

What Neira did next was completely unexpected. She pulled Reiko into a huge hug kissing her on the top of her head. "Arigato, Reiko-chan. You also have my sincerest condolences about your parents."

Reiko's eyes went wide at first after Neira pulled her in, but gladly accepted the hug and wrapped her arms around Neira and enjoyed her comforting warmth. After about a minute the two released the hug.

"My condolences as well corporal."

Reiko nodded to the engineer. "Hai, I already had the strongest Biotic Barrier most people have seen by the time I was twelve. It wasn't until a few years later that I could could shape it like now, but did have my sword… or should I say swords. I can manifest both a single and dual Biotic swords, and with my extensive martial arts training both armed and unarmed, I wrecked havoc on those six-eyed freaks." Reiko explained with a proud smile.

Neira chuckled at the girl's description of the Batarians. She cast her eyes upwards. "Ash, meet me in my quarters." She then looked back at Reiko. "We'll have to continue the tour later, but come with me to my quarters please."

Neira's Quarters

By the time Neira and Reiko reached Neira's quarters, Ashley was already there leaning against the wall waiting. "Well took you long enough, Red." Ashley chuckled. "Looks like you have a shadow." Ashley grinned.

"Oh hush you. I invited her up."

"Konichiwa, chief." Reiko greeted Ashley.

Neira led the two girls in. "Make yourselves at home."

Neira went to her desk and produced three glasses then produced a whiskey bottle, and filled each glass a third of the way. Ashley watched Neira somberly. "Today's the day, isn't it?"

Neira handed Ashley and Reiko a glass. "No, it's in three, but I have a feeling we'll be to busy."

Reiko looked at the other girls confused. Neira noticed her look and sighed. "In three days will be the anniversary of Sierra's death."

Reiko cast her eyes down. "I may not have known her long, but that day was when I decided I wanted to be just like her."

This time it was Ashley's turn to look confused. "Ash, remember Elysium? How Sie told us a young girl saved her with a supercharged barrier, at the cost of her own mother?"

Ashley blinked in shock. "No way!"

Reiko reached in her shirt and produced an old yin yang medallion. "Does this look familiar senpai?"

Ashley took the medallion and looked at it. "wait, this is what I bought her on her fifteenth birthday."

"After the fighting, she gave it to me. I was shocked that she spoke fluent Japanese, considering she was Caucasian."

"The three of us are actually fluent in Japanese, Mandarin, Cantonese, and Korean." Neira explained.

"Taichou, I didn't approach you back then, as I didn't think it was appropriate, but I was there for Sierra-san's funeral." She admitted.

"I had a feeling that might've been you." Neira nodded, then shifted her eyes upward. "Joker, what's our ETA?"

"Six hours, commander."

Neira looked at the whiskey bottle that was now almost empty. "Joker, notify me when we're an hour out."

"Roger that."

Having consumed nearly an entire bottle of Whiskey, Neira could see in both Ashley and Reiko that they were definitely feeling the effects, and she wasn't going to kid herself. She was feeling it as well. "Alright, I can see in your faces that you both are feeling the effects of that whiskey, and I won't deny that I'm the same way. I don't want the two of you staggering through the ship, so all three of us will sleep it off for five hours here."

"I- I don't know if that would be to wise Taichou."

"Why's that Reiko-chan?" Neira asked.

With the fact that Reiko's skin like most Japanese women was naturally pale, it was easy to see the pink come to her cheeks as she blushed. "Well, you see… I sorta sleep in the nude." She admitted.

"And the problem is?" Ashley asked.

"I don't want you to think ill of me if I stripped down." Reiko responded casting her face down.

"Don't worry about it Reiko-chan, we both…" Neira stopped and looked over at Ashley. "We both used to sleep in the nude too. I still do, but haven't seen Ash in a long time, so I can't speak for her."

"Yeah, I still do." Ashley admitted.

"There, settled."

"I- I'm also a bit self conscious…" She looked over at Ashley, her eyes trailing down to her ample chest. "I have a small chest…" Reiko trailed off.

"Reiko-chan, do you think either of us care? Sure Ash has been blessed, but I have a small chest as well."

"I actually went down a size due to my new diet and exercise regiment, I'm now a 34-C, but I can tell Red is still a 36-B." Ashley smirked.

Reiko's blush deepened. "I'm still smaller, I'm only a 34-A." She admitted softly, just above a whisper.

Neira stood up and shook her head as she began taking her top off. "I used to be self-conscious too, but I'm happy with my size. I realized that if I was any _bigger_ it would interfere with my performance, not to mention possibly cause back problems down the road."

Ashley followed suit and began removing her top. "What Neira says is true, I've actually been considering getting a reduction down to a B myself, larger breasts aren't what they're cracked up to be. It's very uncomfortable to be laying in a prone position as a sniper for hours unmoving with larger breasts, because the ground just squashes them and it can get rather painful." Ashley explained.

Reiko nodded as she listened to her two idols and stood up with a smile. She took her top off, being that she was so small, she didn't even wear a bra. Neira looked at Reiko's chest and smiled. "You shouldn't be ashamed, they're perfect."

"Hai, Reiko-chan. Like Red said, they're perfect, they suit your build perfectly."

The three finished stripping and climbed into Neira's bed with Reiko in the middle, soon after the three women drifted off to sleep.

 **5 hours later**

"Commander, you asked me to inform you when it has been five hours." Joker radioed over Shepard's personal room comm.

Neira was already awake and just stared at the ceiling with an ear to ear smile, as both Neira and Ashley not only had an arm and leg draped across her body, but they both had their faces buried in the crooks of her neck.

"Commander?" Joker called again not hearing a response.

"Arigato Joker-san. I'll get her up." Reiko responded.

Joker and Kaiden turned and looked at each other and blinked stunned that it was their newest crew member that not only responded, but responded from Neira's quarters. "

"Corporal Tagawa?" Kaiden question.

"Hai Sir, long story, but the quick run down is I knew the other Shepard and saved her during the blitz, in three days is the anniversary of… she stopped herself knowing Alenko would understand. The three of us The Commander, Chief Williams, and myself were honoring her, and well we drank to much, so The Commander suggested that the three of us sleep it off in her quarters."

"Damn, it's that time already? Understood corporal, and don't worry we won't say anything." Alenko assured her.

"Yeah, just make sure she's up and ready when we enter the Artemis Tau Sector."

"Will do LT, even if I have to drag her in the shower and hit her with icy water."

Alenko put his hands to his face and let them slide down. "Do you have a death wish?" Joker chimed in.

"Nah, she wouldn't hurt me. I saved her sister's life during the Blitz."

Reiko turned her head to look at Shepard with a soft smile. _Now how to wake her without startling her…_ She thought to herself as she tapped her lips with an index finger. A mischievous smile crept across the corporal's lips as she straddled her commander who was sleeping on her back.

Reiko just watched Neira briefly before lowering herself and gently placed her lips to Neira's. Neira's eyes slowly opened. Her brilliant green eyes, albeit glazed from sleep fluttered to fight off the sleep. When she opened them one last time, her eyes focused on the soft brown eyes of the young Japanese woman on top of her.

Neira's hands found Reiko's slender hips, and with a quick and surprising move had the corporal pinned underneath her. "I'm the only one that gets to be on top." Shepard cooed softly placing another kiss to the corporal's lips while her hands had Reiko's hands pinned to the bed. Neira gave the young Asian woman a fiendish grin then licked her right nipple.

This surprising act caused Reiko to arch her back slightly and let out a soft moan. "Will you knock it off? Some of us are actually trying to get some sleep…" Ashley murmured with her face buried in a pillow.

Neira released Reiko's wrists and put a finger to her lips signaling her to be quiet. Reiko nodded as Neira twisted slightly causing Reiko to quickly cover her mouth stifling an unexpected pleasurable moan to escape her mouth as the movement caused both of their velvety folds to briefly rub together. Neira twisted her torso a little more and cocked her hand back and gave Ashley a thunderous slap on her ass leaving a perfect imprint of her hand on Ash's right cheek causing Ashley to jump with a yelp.

"What the hell was that for, Red?" Ashley frowned rubbing her stinging cheek.

"It's time to get up, and you were mumbling that _some people_ were actually trying to sleep." Both Neira and Reiko chuckled.

Ashley just noticed how Neira was sitting on Reiko. " _Red_ , you better let the poor girl up, I don't think her boyfriend would appreciate it."

"It's alright Senpai, I don't have a boyfriend."

Hearing this Ashley blinked. "How's that possible? As beautiful as you are." Neira looked down at the girl she was straddling nodding in agreement.

"Simple- I don't like guys, not in _that_ way. Much to my parents displeasure, I'm a lesbian." Reiko proudly admitted.

"Ok, fine, your girlfriend probably definitely wouldn't approve." Ashley corrected herself.

"Don't have one of those either, every girl I have been interested in was to intimidated by me, either by my career in the military, or martial arts skill, and sometimes by both." Reiko frowned.

"Hey, don't worry about it. You have us now. Right, _Red_?"

Neira nodded with a smile.

"But I thought the two of you were, umm… _together_?"

Neira shook her head her face hidden from Ashley, so that only the young Corporal pinned beneath her could see the sadness. "No, but… I hope that's the case one day…" Neira admitted softly.

Ashley sprung up and wrapped her arms around Neira, resting her forehead between Neira's shoulder blades. "I am and have always been, and always will be your girl _Red_. You have no idea how long I've waited for you to confirm your feelings.

"I should probably leave Senpais, give the two of you some time."

Of all the adjectives one could use to describe Neira Shepard, _delicate_ definitely wasn't one of them. However, her fingers were not just delicate, one might say they were _magical_ when it came to her lovers, which was rather an oxymoron onto itself, as the woman's hands are as strong as a vice, and rough due to the callouses her hands have developed over the years of military life. However, delicate would be the apt word as Neira gently cupped a hand to Reiko's cheek and softly ran her thumb across the young girl's lips.

Reiko flushed at the touch. Ashley seeing the nervousness in Reiko knew that she needed to put in end to the fun and games. " _Red._ Now's not the time, we have to shower and get ready we'll be in the Artemis Tau sector in less than an hour," she reminded Neira.

Neira looked over her shoulder, her glimmering emerald pools were caught in Ashley's golden caramel eyes trapping her as if she was trying to trudge through a river of molasses in the winter. Neira finally nodded and got off of Reiko pointing to a closet.

"Towels are in there girls, the Normandy maybe small, but the shower in the Captain's quarters are huge. Reiko-san, I wasn't originally planning on bringing anyone else on board which I'll rectify next time we're at the citadel. So in the meantime after we get dressed, head down to the Engineering deck and see what the requisitions officer has."

"Hai, Taichou."

Neira looked over her shoulder. "When you're with just us, you can call us by name Rei-san, except when on a mission, as you know everything gets recorded." Neira stated with a smile before entering the over-sized shower.

After their shower and getting dressed, Neira and Ashley headed for the bridge while Reiko headed down to get outfitted. Reiko shortly arrived on the bridge wearing a suit of Heavy Colossus MK VII with an attached Sokolov MK VII Shotgun.

"Perfect timing Corporal." Kaiden acknowledged Reiko. "We just entered the Artemis Tau cluster, now the fun part. Figuring out which system."

Neira placed a hand on the back of Joker's seat and leaned in. "Joker, can you do a broad sensor sweep for anything abnormal?"

"On it, commander." Joker quickly input some information and the sensor operators quickly began scanning the Artemis Tau sector by sector.

"Pull up a visual of the cluster while they're scanning." Shepard ordered.

"Aye, aye ma'am." Joker acknowledged and pulled up a display over the center most view port. Shepard rubbed her chin as she watched and waited for any scans.

"So, the cluster has only four systems… Athens, Knossos, Macedon, and Sparta." Ashley commented.

"Have any of you been to this cluster before?" Asked Joker.

"Aye, Ash and myself during the Pirate suppression campaign. We tracked a Batarian pirate by the name of Eluam Ran'perah to Alsages in the Sparta system."

"Yeah his frigate, the Tunerron tried to do a drive discharge. We were stationed on the cruiser the Hyderabad at the time. Fool tried to challenge us, now the Tunerron is scattered all across the southern hemisphere…" Ashley chuckled.

"Well, what did you expect from those six-eyed bastards?" Reiko chuckled. "As far as I'm concerned, the only good Batarian is a dead Batarian." The young corporal hissed. Which elicited a high-five from both Shepard and Williams.

"Ouch, that's pretty harsh isn't it corporal?" Kaiden asked.

"Negative, senpai. I don't have any parents due to them. My Okasan was killed during the Blitz, and my Otosan died a couple years later due to complications during the Blitz." She hissed with balled fists.

"Okasan? Otosan?" Joker questioned.

"Mother and father respectively, Joker." Ashley translated.

Kaiden turned to look at the corporal but kept quiet when he saw Neira had turned and held her in a comforting embrace to calm her down.

"We have some activity!" Shouted one of the sensor operators."

Joker looked at his console to see which sensor. "Location ensign?"

"Therum in the Knossos system, the wide-band sensor sweep isn't strong enough for a full report, but there's some strange readings."

Neira turned back to the front. "Joker!"

"Already on it commander."

"Ensign, narrow the search and update us as soon as you have some sort of better Intel."

"Aye, aye ma'am."

Neira stood straight with her hands folded behind her small back, her mind working covering everyone that could be sent on any ground mission and calculating teams. "Alright, unless something changes, ground teams will be divided into two squads. Alpha squad will be headed by me, and will include Williams, Tagawa, and Tali. Bravo team will be headed up by Alenko, and will consist of Wrex and Garrus." Neira stated and did an about face. "When both teams are planet side, Pressley will have command. Now, both teams suit up and head for the cargo hold and the Mako. Joker, once you have the Intel radio me in the Mako."

At that both squads made their way to the cargo hold and boarded the Mako with Neira driving, and Alenko in the co-pilot's seat and Ashley in the 155mm Mass Accelerator turret, the rest buckled in, in the crew seats.

 **A/N: Let me know what you all think of Corporal Reiko Shepard. Just remember this is an AU retelling, so I'm not following strictly to the story, mostly yes with some changes here and there, some small, some major.**

 **Like usual, please rate and review**


	10. You will have to purchase at least 3 dis

just a small update here. I haven't cancelled any of my stories, been dealing with a lot.

1) the worst case of writer's block I've ever had

2)loss of power due to a hurricane

3)death in the family.

I keep going back to the chapters in all of my stories only to come up blank or able to get maybe 2 sentencace, a paragraph at most


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